Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Mia Matthews of American Idol Season 22

Idol returns to ABC on Sunday, Feb. 18 with the judging trio of Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie back intact.

Here’s more about Mia.

* She’s Mia Makana Matthews, a young singer-songwriter from Centre, Alabama, who will be going solo on Idol after spending most of her life performing as part of a family group in one form or another.

* For instance, Mia was 15 when she auditioned for Season 19 of The Voice with mother Tara and younger sister Jacy as the country-pop trio Worth the Wait.

* Worth the Wait turned four chairs with their blind audition performance of Linda Rondstadt’s “When Will I Be Loved,” joined Team Blake Shelton and advanced all the way to the live playoffs before being eliminated.

* Worth the Wait is completely behind the Idol audition. In fact, it appears Jacy might have auditioned as well. The group’s Facebook page reads: “WTW trio is still together and going strong … so no worries there!! But we do hope you guys will all watch and support our girls (on Idol)!!”

* Since that Voice appearance in the fall of 2020, the trio released a 10-song debut album called “Vinyl Revival.” Judging from their Facebook page, it appears they might have even performed at the Grand Ole Opry thanks to a Blake Shelton invite.

* More recently, Mia dropped her debut single, an impressive song called “Parking Lot,” released last summer. Check out a snippet below.

* Said Mia on release day: “I wrote ‘Parking Lot’ when I was 16 years old and, over the years, it became a lot less about the boy and the place and the heartbreak and a lot more about me. This song has been mine for years and now, it’s ours.”

* “This actually is my first rodeo,” Mia writes in her social media bio (I wonder if she’s referring to the solo venture). But she’s already developing an impressive social media following, to the tune of 16,000 followers on TikTok.

* Prior to Worth the Wait, Mia performed with sisters Jacy and Said as The Matthews Sisters, racking up 45 million views on their YouTube videos.

Mia on social media:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube (Worth the Wait)