Melinda Doolittle

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Melinda Doolittle

Background information
Birth name	Melinda Doolittle
Born	December 1, 1977 (age 29)
Origin	Brentwood, Tennessee
Genre(s)	Gospel R&B Soul
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	2007—present

Melinda Doolittle (born December 1, 1977) is an American singer who is currently a finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.

1 Early Life
2 American Idol
3 References
4 External links

[edit] Early Life

Doolittle was born in Brentwood, Tennessee to Steve Doolittle.^[1] She graduated from Union High School in Tulsa, Oklahoma in 1995.^[2] Although she has been singing since the seventh grade, her professional career did not begin until after her graduation in 1999 as a music major from Belmont University (then Belmont College).^[3] Since college, her vocal instruction has been provided by her coach, Janet Kenyon. Doolittle sang back-up for Michael McDonald, Anointed, Mandisa, Aaron Neville, Jonny Lang, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, Alabama (band) and CeCe Winans. A listing of her prior performances is provided by All Music Guide (see external links).

[edit] American Idol

Week #	Song Choice	Original Artist	Bottom 3
Top 24	(Sweet Sweet Baby) Since You‘ve Been Gone	Aretha Franklin	N/A
Top 20	My Funny Valentine	Popularized by Chet Baker and Frank Sinatra	N/A
Top 16	I‘m A Woman	Peggy Lee/Maria Muldaur	N/A
Top 12	Home	From the Musical and Film The Wiz, Music and Lyrics by Charlie Smalls; Popularized by Stephanie Mills and Diana Ross	No
Top 11	As Long As He Needs Me	From the Musical and Film Oliver!, Music and Lyrics by Lionel Bart; Popularized by Shirley Bassey	No
Top 10	Heaven Knows	Donna Summer	No
Top 9	I Got Rhythm	From the Musical Girl Crazy, Music by George Gershwin and Lyrics by Ira Gershwin; Popularized by Ethel Merman	No

[edit] Audition

Doolittle first auditioned for the reality show American Idol in Memphis, Tennessee. She sang the song, For Once in My Life, which was popularized by Stevie Wonder, one of her favorite artists. She was met with admiration from all three judges in response to her audition. They did express concern, however, about the nerves she had exhibited and told her to believe in herself.

[edit] Semi-Finals

Doolittle apparently took their advice because she managed to secure herself a spot in the Top 24, which was to perform on national television. During her initial broadcast, Doolittle was highly praised for her rendition of Sweet Sweet Baby (Since You’ve Been Gone), by Aretha Franklin. The following week, Doolittle pulled off another winning performance with the song My Funny Valentine. According to the judges, it was "without question the best vocal we've had through the competition." For her last semifinal performance, Doolittle attempted the song I'm a Woman, causing Simon Cowell to call her "a little tiger," he continued "I thought we had a pussycat." On March 8, 2007, Doolittle made it into the show's Top 12.

[edit] Finals

Week 1 - March 13, 2007, she performed Diana Ross' song Home, which was once again praised by the judges and even made Paula Abdul cry over how good it was. After her performance, Simon Cowell proclaimed her as a "fantastic singer," comparing her to a young Gladys Knight.

Week 2 - March 20, 2007, Doolittle sang As Long As He Needs Me by Shirley Bassey for Top 11 "British Invasion" week. Once again, Melinda received praises from all 3 judges, and Simon referred to her vocals as impeccable.

Week 3 - March 27, 2007, Melinda made a change of pace and sang an uptempo song called Heaven Knows by Donna Summer. It was not surprising that she received praises again, and Randy complimented her on how she knew how to sing like the character would have in the song. Simon said that once again another outstanding vocal.

Week 4 - April 3, 2007, with special guest Tony Bennett, Melinda sang I Got Rhythm. She received a standing ovation from the audience and critical acclaim from all three judges. Simon said they would never be able to criticize her.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

American Idol Season 6
Melinda Doolittle \| LaKisha Jones \| Blake Lewis \| Sanjaya Malakar \| Chris Richardson \| Haley Scarnato Jordin Sparks \| Phil Stacey \| Gina Glocksen \| Chris Sligh \| Stephanie Edwards \| Brandon Rogers

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Melinda Doolittle

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Contents

[edit] Early Life

[edit] American Idol

[edit] Audition

[edit] Semi-Finals

[edit] Finals

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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