Algonquin native moves on to next round of 'American Idol'
Algonquin native Althea Grace earned a golden ticket to advance to the next round of "American Idol" after delivering a powerful performance of the song she wrote for her 2-year-old daughter in Sunday evening's episode of the TV show.
The 21-year-old said she it felt "utterly surreal" to hear she would move on to the next round of the show in Hollywood, California.
"I think I'm still in shock. ... I am so grateful the judges took this chance on me and I get to move forward to Hollywood week," Grace said in a written statement Sunday evening. "This show could really change mine, and my daughter's, life forever."
Grace's performance of her song "Saturday Morning" wowed the show's judges, who include pop star Katy Perry, country singer Luke Bryan and singer-songwriter Lionel Richie.
"The hardest part in this business is to have a unique voice that cuts through, OK, and you have a cut-through voice," Richie said. "But I think you really have to just be confident in yourself."
Bryan compared her singing voice with American singer-songwriter Stevie Nicks and said he loved the tone of her voice.
Before Grace began to sing, she bonded with Perry over what it's like to be a mother, which, for her, has been a complicated journey.
Grace currently resides in Los Angeles, where she dedicated her time to songwriting until last January when her daughter, Lennon, got sick, Grace told the Northwest Herald last week.
Doctors told Grace that Lennon was in full liver failure and they did not know if they would be able to find a match in time to save her life, she said in Sunday's episode.
"It felt like a piece of me was going to die if she died," Grace said in the episode.
Six days after Grace received this earth-shattering news, Lennon's doctors informed her they had found a match, she said.
"It was by an absolute miracle, just that gift of life that she was given," Grace said Sunday. "The fact that she was able to pull through and get through what she's been through is why I'm still pushing for my dreams."
As her daughter recovered, Grace began thinking about music again. That's when she decided to audition for "American Idol," using the song she wrote for Lennon when she was sick.
"It was about wishing I would enjoy all of the little things more before she got sick, and I wanted to sing something that was for her," Grace said.
She told the Northwest Herald last week she auditioned for the show "on a whim." She said she wanted to do something to show her family, and her daughter, she was chasing her dreams.
Grace said she watched "American Idol" with her grandmother as a child, and her grandmother always told her she would have a real shot at winning.
She started thinking up songs and performing at a very young age, winning the McHenry County Fair talent contest at age 13 with a rendition of "Crazy on You" by Heart accompanied by her acoustic guitar.
Since then, Grace has played on many stages from McHenry County to Nashville as a solo artist and with a band.
Her musical career will continue on with "American Idol" as she advances to Hollywood Week, which will air starting with the March 21 episode.
In Sunday's episode, Perry encouraged Grace to try and overcome her timidness when performing.
"I need you to fight for this," Perry said. "I know it's scary, it's really frickin' scary. You have to have that fire. You've got to take everything that you've been through and make it into fire every time you sing."