LaKisha Jones - Season 6

[xDC3x]

Really. Once she did her little diva move, with the kick, I was hers.

Was that during the audition? I don't really remember it that well, but I remember thinking her voice wasn't that strong.

Oh well it's all in the past now, she's got me hooked! That little pause she did in the Hollywood round, wow! I don't know if anyone knows what i'm talking about, but that's what got me. She is a performer.

[MotherSister]

Nah, the kick was during Hollywood, but it was really quick. I just picked up on it during several rewatches.

I liked Lakisha's audition, but she was much more dynamic in voice and performance during Hollywood. I hope she keeps that up; she'll be a lock for the top 12.

[APwatchesTV]

From what I've seen, she looks like she can give a great performance....If you want over the top energy. I wonder how'd she favor in a more restrained song?

[Jexter]

I want good entertainment this season, and my money & my votes are on Lakisha. Hope she doesn't get all religious or wierd on me.

[Fan of ANTM]

One my favorites for this season.

[TNKY]

She's really good. I just hope she doesn't lose favor like Mandisa in the competition.

[nemo78]

She's really good. I just hope she doesn't lose favor like Mandisa in the competition.

That depends on herself. Mandisa was very one-dimensional and I think that was biggest reason why she got eliminated so early. I see lots of similarities between her and Lakisha, I just hope that Lakisha can prove that she can sing softly and tenderly too, not just belt it all out.

[marlap]

This girl is one of my early favorites!

[Tickety]

First time I saw her I wondered whether she was Mandisa's sister! Their names rhyme. Of course, then I found out her family name wasn't Hundley.

She'll need a real breakout performance in the first voting show that's coming up in order to stay in and stay long, I think. Mandisa pretty much did that singing "Never" last year (that drew comparisons to Carrie's "Alone" - a compliment in my book, because that was one of Carrie's best performances on Idol).

[bbnbama]

Lakisha

'I'm ready for the journey'
Flint's 'Idol' hopeful dedicates show to daughter
THE FLINT JOURNAL FIRST EDITION
Sunday, February 18, 2007
By Doug Pullen

Wednesday will be doubly special for LaKisha Jones, Flint's own "American Idol" hopeful.

It's not only her first round of competition on TV's most popular show, which airs at 8 p.m. on WSMH (Channel 66) - it's also daughter Brionne's fourth birthday.

"How ironic is that?" Jones said Friday from Hollywood, where for the past two weeks she has been groomed, rehearsed, interviewed, photographed and generally prepared for her shot at stardom.

Jones, 27, is one of 24 finalists - 12 men, 12 women - on the sixth season of the show.

Tuesday's show will feature just the guys. The women go Wednesday (with viewer voting on Thursday). Jones, who was chosen from among thousands who auditioned last August in New York.

"That performance is definitely being dedicated to her," Jones said of Wednesday's show. "I will give it my all. I came here focused and I will remain focused and try to take this thing home."

That "thing" is being voted this year's "American Idol" title and the instant stardom that goes with it. Jones has a long way to go; viewers won't pick the winners until May 23.

But if she does go all the way, she'll be in good company. Past "Idols" include some of today's biggest pop stars, Kelly Clarkson and recent Best New Artist Grammy winner Carrie Underwood among them.

But winning isn't everything. Viewer favorites such as Clay Aiken and Chris Daughtry, whose March 11 show at the Machine Shop sold out in less than a week, have enjoyed success greater than the people who beat them. Daughtry, a surprise cast-off last season, has seen sales of his debut album eclipse the 1 million mark since its November release.

Jones said it's tough being a couple of thousand miles away from her daughter, who is staying with Jones' mom, Beverly Jefferson, a teacher at Flint's Northern Academy. "It's a small sacrifice for a brighter future," she said.

And the chance of a lifetime.

"It is amazing. I never thought I would be doing photo shoots. We have people drive us around. It's a wonderful, wonderful thing. It makes you feel like you're somebody, like 'Whoo! Have I arrived?'" Jones said.

"Some people think they have arrived. No, we haven't. This is a little taste, but we have a long way to go. I'm ready for the journey."

She's trying not to let things go to her head. "I don't try to be caught up in all the hype," she said.

Besides, Jones has a very specific goal in mind. "I want a stable life for me and my daughter," she said.

Jones' single-mom status already is one of the most compelling story lines on Season 6 of "Idol," which averages more than 30 million viewers a night.

But it's her strong will and deep experience as "a church singer" - Jones' gospel training goes back to the tender age of 5, when she started singing at Mt. Zion Missionary Baptist Church.

She was a member of the Madrigal Singers of Flint's Central High School, which wracked up some impressive wins at a choir competition in New York while Jones was a student there. Jones graduated from Central in 1998.

She also performed in gospel plays, including "Lead Poisoning," about gun violence, at Whiting Auditorium, and won the 1997 edition of the "Super-Show," the now-defunct talent contest that attracted some of the top amateur singers, dancers and rappers from the region in its '90s heyday.

Jones attended the University of Michigan-Flint, where she studied voice before dropping out. Brionne was born in 2003, the same year she first tried out for "Idol."

"I (figured) I might as well put singing on the backburner because I was a single parent trying to raise my daughter. I'm not going to have time to get gigs and be singing," she said.

But friends, family and co-workers encouraged her to keep at it. This year, she did.

"Thank you, Jesus, finally," she said with a sigh of relief.

Jones moved last July to Fort Meade, Md., where she worked at a bank. She was one of thousands who auditioned for "Idol" a month later in New York City, impressing producers and the show's judges, including the notoriously tough Simon Cowell.

"They haven't had anything negative to say so far," she said a bit incredulously.

But Jones is realistic. She knows singers "have their good and bad days. The vocal cord," she noted, "is a tricky instrument. I'm sure maybe there will be some constructive criticism, but I do welcome that."

After getting the invitation to Hollywood, Jones moved back to Flint in November, her status as a future "Idol" contestant kept secret.

She is confident a lifetime of singing, her faith and the support of friends, family and, now, fans could be her ticket to the big time, whether she wins the competition or not.

"Here's 'American Idol,' this monster. It opened up the opportunity for people like me, who always had a dream of singing but never knew how to get their foot in the door," she said.

It's in now, big time.

Though Jones said that her new life as a budding "Idol" has been a circus, she hopes it's just a matter of time before she becomes one of the main attractions.

"I'm hoping to win and I'm praying to God that it is my time, my season, that I will win" she said. "If not, I'm also praying that God will send someone else along to get (me) a record contract. I'd love to do some acting as well. I just want to do it all and provide a stable life for me and my daughter."