Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Zaylie Windsor of American Idol Season 23

American Idol officially returned Sunday, March 9 with Carrie Underwood joining Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan at the judges’ table.

The final audition episode airs Sunday. Hollywood Week begins Monday night.

Here’s more about Zaylie.

* She’s an 18-year-old singer-songwriter from Safford, Ariz., who’s already built an impressive resume.

* She won a Gilla Valley (Ariz.) Idol competition in 2023, taking a first-place prize of $2,000. And she won Battle of the Bands competitions in Show Low, Ariz., in 2021 and 2023.

* On her website, Zaylie says she’s been singing since age 5 and performed her first gig at a Boys and Girls Club Gala at age 12.

* In a 2024 interview with the Eastern Area Courier, Zaylie said: “I remember always doing the talent shows in elementary school, but my first couple of gigs are where I realized this is what I was going to do and how much I loved it.”

* And fans have enjoyed what they’ve heard. Zaylie has more than 65,000 followers and more than 3 million likes on her TikTok.

* One of her most popular videos there is an impassioned cover of “Vampire Empire” by Big Thief with more than 1 million views. You can check it out below.

* Zaylie hasn’t released music yet, but she’s working on it. You’ll find snippets of two originals — “The Used” and “Shades of Blue” — on her social media. In a January Facebook post, Zaylie said she’d been recording some of her originals at Cimamusic Studio in Stafford.

* Among her most memorable performances — opening for country music star David Nail on her 16th birthday and singing the national anthem at a WNBA Phoenix Mercury game, on Women’s Empowerment Day, no less. She’s also scheduled to perform the anthem at an Oakland Athletics spring training game later this week (Feb. 28).

* In addition to her musical accomplishments, Zaylie has attended Eastern Arizona College and become the first youth member of the Graham County Chamber of Commerce.

* Writes Zaylie on her website: “Every song I write, every note I sing — it’s all a reflection of who I am. Music isn’t just something I do; it’s the core of my life.”

Zaylie on social media:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube

@zayliewindsor vampire empire – big thief #bigthief #vampireempire #vampireempirebigthief #singer #singersongwriter #cover #singersoftiktok ♬ original sound – zaylie windsor ✮