Will contestants give the suburbs an 'Idol' encore?
Haley Reinhart and Ta-Tynisa Wilson know how to stick with it.
Reinhart, of Wheeling, was crushed when “American Idol” judges cut her last year. And Wilson, an Aurora native, tried out for the show unsuccessfully four times before making the cut this year.
But it appears luck and talent have finally caught up with the women, who each secured a top 24 spot on the show and will perform Wednesday night on TV.
If this story sounds familiar, that's because there was one local singer who made it past the same Chicago auditions that tripped up Reinhart and Wilson last year. That was Mount Prospect's Lee DeWyze. He went on to win “Idol” after a memorable hometown visit last May, that culminated with 41,000 screaming fans crowding Arlington Park. Currently DeWyze is on a national tour promoting his first post-”Idol” album.
The question is, could it happen again?
Haley Reinhart, 20
A lot of people say they grew up in a home full of music, but Haley Reinhart means it. Her parents, Harry and Patti, are longtime Wheeling residents who are in a band together called Midnight.
The band performs all over the suburbs, from Peggy Kinnane's in Arlington Heights to Las Palmas in Naperville. Haley has been a de-facto member of the group ever since she was a kid in braids holding an imaginary microphone.
Patti met Harry when she tried out for the band in 1978.
“Have you ever seen ‘The (Fabulous) Baker Boys' movie?” asks Patti with a laugh. “It was like that. Band members weren't supposed to date so we tried to stay away for a couple years, but then, well, you know.”
The couple performs at PS Pub in Wheeling, singing mostly rock covers from the '60s and '70s, said Skip Tubbs, who works at the tavern. Sometimes Haley will join her parents onstage, he said.
“Talk about great mentors,” said Tubbs about Harry and Patti.
Harry also sings vocals and plays guitar for Skip Towne and The Greyhounds, a blues and rock band that performs in Chicago and the suburbs.
“Our band is all about word-of-mouth, we've been together so long,” Patti said. “We have a nice following and we've been really packing them in lately. I bet Haley has something to do with that.”
Patti recalled the first time she realized Haley could really be a star. Midnight was playing at a tattoo convention in Chicago and Haley, 9, sang her first song in front of a crowd.
“The whole place just stopped,” Patti said. “Then the place went crazy when she was finished. She started to cry because she was just so overwhelmed.”
From then on, Haley sometimes joined her parents onstage, Patti said.
“God bless the owners, most of them didn't even care,” she said. “She was so good.”
Eventually Patti took a break from the band to raise Haley and her younger sister, Angie, who is now a sophomore at Wheeling High School. Harry, a full-time musician, joined three other bands.
Reinhart's success on “Idol” comes as no surprise to Bertha Sanchez and Joanne Amador-Zapata, the co-sponsors of SHADE, a multicultural club at Wheeling High School.
Reinhart was in the group's variety shows for four years, although as a freshman she almost missed out when she didn't hear the announcement about auditions.
Eventually, she came to Amador-Zapata and Sanchez begging for a tryout and ended up wowing them with her version of an Avril Lavigne song.
“We weren't expecting a lot but then she started to sing with this huge voice,” said Amador-Zapata. “I was like, ‘You're in.'”
She stayed in. Amador-Zapata and Sanchez quickly introduced Reinhart to the school's choir director and band director, Brian Logan.
Logan said Reinhart joined the school's jazz band and toured Italy and Switzerland. After she would sing, the band would sell hundreds of compact discs.
“Haley is so down to earth,” Logan said. “There is not a diva bone in her body. She has true grace.”
Reinhart's younger sister, Angie, also performed in school's variety show and Haley came back to watch her show in November.
“It's almost like she's ours,” Sanchez said.
“I know we can't take complete credit, her parents are musicians, but we're just so proud of her,” Amador-Zapata said. “She's so talented.”
Reinhart graduated from Wheeling High School in 2009. At Harper College she joined the Jazz Ensemble and Jazz Lab. Haley studied jazz piano for a short time but vocals have always been her greatest skill, said Ken Spurr, ensemble director for the Harper Jazz Band.
“‘American Idol' is something she's been pursuing every since she finished high school,” Spurr said. “Her mom and dad are professional musicians so it's something she grew up with.”
Wheeling Mayor Judy Abruscato saw what Lee DeWyze did for Mount Prospect and is already picturing throngs of Wheeling residents huddled around televisions at local restaurants on “Idol” nights.
“I can't help it, it's already in my head,” said Abruscato, who may put Haley's name on the electronic sign outside village hall. “I'm just so excited for this young lady.”
She's probably not the only one. Reinhart has been envisioning herself on the show for quite some time.
“You guys told me to come back,” Reinhart told the “Idol” judges last month, recounting her first rejection.
“I was crushed needless to say. But I came back.”
Ta-Tynisa Wilson, 20
Those who know Ta-Tynisa Wilson say hours of practice and determination — along with an obvious passion for singing — allowed her and her voice to rise among the ranks of the final 24 on “American Idol.”
Wilson, 20, failed four times before making the cut on this year's show.
Trying harder is nothing new for the Waubonsie High School graduate.
She immersed herself in choral groups the moment she walked into the Aurora school, said Mark Myers, Waubonsie's choir director. In 2004, she joined the freshman girls choir, singing first soprano.
“When she started, you could definitely tell she had a lot of potential,” Myers said. “It's not a surprise to me to have seen her grow so much since she graduated.”
During high school, Wilson also sang in Mosaic Choir, a group that accompanies a steel drum band; Unity Chorus, a multicultural ensemble; treble choir, varsity choir and show choir. She later worked at the Fudgery in Aurora's outlet mall, a job that allowed her to sing and perform while demonstrating how to make fudge.
“She worked really hard ... to improve in all aspects of her singing from music theory to her reading abilities in both classical and pop,” Myers said.
“Idol” judges and viewers are seeing mostly her R & B side, he added.
And when a choir director, “American Idol” casting agent or judge offers improvement advice, Wilson takes it in stride. Clayton Muhammad, who founded an Aurora youth group Wilson joined called Boys II Men Diamonds, said he's watched her grow into a young woman who handles herself with poise.
“She takes criticism well, handles praise with such humility,” Muhammad said, adding that he's asked her to sing at 40 or more events, and she never has said no.
“You can't see in an hour show that this girl puts in the work,” Muhammad said. “She really puts on a classy show. I don't think people can see she's an extremely faith-connected girl.”
Recent posts on Wilson's Twitter page, @tatii_wilson, show her faith and love for her mother, Bernessa. “Thanking God for everything right now!” she wrote Friday. “Cannot wait to see my mom today!” she tweeted Saturday.
Many Aurorans can't wait for the next chance to see one of their own on national TV, said Kimberly Bennett, who performed with Wilson in competitions including an Aurora Idol contest Wilson won.
“It's great to see one of us on TV,” said Bennett, a 23-year-old Columbia College graduate who performs as Kim B. “She has discipline and determination. It's inspirational.”
Muhammad said Wilson's success creates teaching moments, allowing him to remind kids they can come from Aurora and do amazing things.
“It's fun and it's empowering,” Muhammad said. “Not only for Aurora as a whole, but for the kids who know her.”
When to watch, how to vote
<b>7-8:30 p.m.</b> Wednesday: The 12 women finalists perform on Fox. The 12 men sang on Tuesday.
<b>7-9 p.m. Thursday:</b> Finalists will be announced. Rumor is 10 finalists will be chosen based on audience votes, then each judge will get a “wild card” pick, bringing the total number to 13. Also, reigning Idol and Mount Prospect native Lee DeWyze will debut his new single.
<b>Vote for your favorite</b>
At the end of Wednesday's performances, viewers have two hours to vote, and can vote up to 50 times.
• Use the toll-free numbers. Each contestant has his/her own number you dial, which you see on the show.
• AT&T Wireless subscribers can text the word “VOTE” to the four-digit short code (5701, 5702, etc.) that corresponds with the contestant of their choice.
• Vote at americanidol.com, but you need a Facebook account to be able to access the voting page.