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Profile Spotlight on Lil Rounds, American Idol Season 8 Finalist

Favorite Quote:

“If I can help somebody with a word or a song then my life shall not be in vain.”

Favorite Male Artists:

Anthony Hamilton

Favorite Female Artists:

Alicia Keys

Lil Rounds is a buxom 23 year old beauty from Memphis, Tennessee that can belt out soul and blues with some of the best ever to grace Idol’s stage. She has a heart-warming smile and a presence on stage that makes her a real contender for the prize this year.

Lil Rounds is actually her real name. Lil is short for Lillian, but she is anything but short on talent. The name is perfect for a performer. Idol judge Kara DioGuardi agrees. “What a great name, Lil Rounds.” she said . Lil has burst onto the scene as a powerful new talent as one of the top 13 finalists on FOX’s “American Idol 8.”

Lil auditioned in Kansas City, Missouri. She sang “All I Do” by Stevie Wonder for her audition, and received a strong endorsement from all four judges to put her through to Hollywood.

Randy Jackson said she is a mix of Fantasia Barrino and Mary J. Blige. We think she is unique and more appealing than either..

The show’s four judges seemed most in agreement about Rounds’ talent when she sang Mary J. Blige’s “Be Without You.” Their praise and her superb performance demonstrated that she is not going home any time soon.

Lil began singing when she was 3 years old. She is a customer service representative and lives in Memphis, Tennessee with her husband and three children. Until now, she hasn’t ventured far from the nest.

Having 3 children is a major challenge, but that hasn’t presented a problem for Lil because of the support offered by her family in the pursuit of her dream. “Throughout my journey… my family has been so supportive… if it was not for them, I would not be here right now”.

Here’s a Lil Rounds fansite on the web.

Hollywood Introduction

Top 36 Hollywood Interview with Matt Giraud

Her Background story and Audition

Hollywood week: “I’ll Always Love You” by Whitney Houston

Interview Top 36

American Idol Q&A, Continue on next page…

Pages: 12

Profile Spotlight on Allison Iraheta, American Idol Season 8 Finalist

Favorite Quote:

“I’ll never let you go, if you promise not to fade away.”

Favorite Male Artists:

Michael Jackson

Favorite Female Artists:

Pink

Allison Iraheta made it into the top 12 (which later turned out to be top 13) in week 2 of the competition, singing Alone” by Heart. We indicated then we were quite impressed because the song is such an icon that it is hard to do well without being compared to the original and Allison did it amazingly well and outperformed some past Idols that had attempted to sing it.

Allison auditioned in San Francisco. She sang “Natural Woman” by Aretha Franklin and that pushed her through to Hollywood.

This isn’t Allison’s first competition. She has proven to be a winner in prior battles, winning “Quinceanera,” a Telemundo reality show. She took home the $50,000 prize, which included a recording contract.

Allison began singing at age 5 and also enjoys playing the guitar. She currently lives in Downey, California and is originally from Sherman Oaks, California. At age 16, Allison is the youngest performer this year to reach the final 13. Her parents are from El Salvador. When asked about her age as a factor, Allison calmly stated, “We’re all here for the same thing and it depends on how much we want it,” Allison’s trademark feature is her flame-red hair which makes her incredibly memorable. If she can continue to perform at the caliber she did to make the finals, she will be giving this elite group of challengers a run for their money.

Latest AI Interview Top 36

Introducing Allison in Hollywood Week

Allison with Jun’ot Joyner Top 36 Round

“Alone” by Heart Encore

American Idol Q&A, Continue on next page…

Pages: 12

Profile Spotlight on Adam Lambert, American Idol Season 8 Finalist

Favorite Quote:

“When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace.”

– Jimi Hendrix

Favorite Male Artists:

Michael Jackson, Freddie Mercury, Lenny Kravitz, David Bowie

Favorite Female Artists:

katy Perry, Pink, Christina Aguilera, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Goldfrapp, Madonna

Many American Idol Contestants, among which are such memorable Idol performers as Fantasia, Diana DeGarmo, Constantine Maroulis, Frenchie Davis, Clay Aiken and Taylor Hicks have found their way to the Broadway stage. Adam Lambert did things in reverse, performing in the Broadway Production Wicked in Los Angeles before auditioning for Idol. Adam played Fiyero.

Wicked wasn’t Adam’s first professional stint. Prior to joining Wicked, he performed in The Ten Commandments as “Joshua” at the Kodak Theater in Los Angeles. Lambert’s Idol audition was broadcast on the Jan. 20 show from San Francisco, and he sang Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” to get a unanimous pass to Hollywood. In later weeks he sang a Cher tune though and the likeness in his voice to that of Cher combined with his make up made us worry about his apparent penchant to be a female impersonator.

To get to the final 12, Adam belted out a screamingly ostentatious version of The Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction,” to which we said, the scream is back! Adam can scream, with ease, and that is an incredibly difficult feat for most singers. His scream is on par with Stephen Tyler and Roger Daltry who identified their songs with powerful screams.

Some very risqué photos of Adam tongue-ing it up with his favorite boy toy kind of left us wondering if his image is what Idol is really looking for at this point. The images which we are not even publishing here- were intended to be private on his social network page, but it is questionable putting pictures like this up on any web page at all. Adam has talent, but is America willing to buy into his sexually explicit image? We are not sure and it could be a problem for Adam going forward. Adam is 27 years old and is from Los Angeles, California.

We found a fan site for Adam here.

Latest AI Interview

Hollywood Introduction

Top 36 Interview with Stevie Wright

Elimination Night with Nick Mitchell and Encore of “Satisfaction”

American Idol Q&A, Continue on next page…

Pages: 12

Profile Spotlight on Alexis Grace, American Idol Season 8 Finalist

Favorite Quote:

“You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”
– Mahatma Gandhi

Favorite Male Artists:
Justin Timberlake

Favorite Female Artists:
Pink

Alexis Grace is a 21 year old single mom from Memphis, Tennessee. She got to the final 12 by belting out a soulful and sexy version of “Never Loved a Man” by Aretha Franklin, dressing in a sexy, almost cabaret style with a blues twist.

Top 12 Performance Night “Never Loved A Man”

Alexis is extremely petite at 4’11” and 99 pounds, but her size does not limit her vocal range or her ability to perform.

She was born June 9, 1987 and auditioned for Idol in Louisville Kentucky. She was voted through with a unanimous vote which started her trek to the top 12. Surprisingly, she had auditioned twice for Idol and never made it to Hollywood. “Three time’s a charm,” she says on her Hollywood introduction.

Her full name is Alexis Grace Middleton. She graduated from Overton High School.

Alexis misses her daughter Ryan Elizabeth, “I am nervous. Any mom would be nervous because, you know, it’s their kid and they are so attached to their child. That’s their responsibility. But it’s only for a little time, and this little time apart, as long as I work hard and dedicate myself to it, I know I can get it done because I have the best family in the world, and they’re there to help me out with whatever I need. And I know I’ll be traveling back and forth, so I’ll be able to get to see her — not as much as I’d like to. But, you know, this is all to better our lives.”

We think Alexis has the edge she needs but she has some stiff competition. We will see if she can pull off the performances week after week when she is forced to break out of her bluesy style.