JOIN OUR WHATSAPP CHANNEL
Meet Julia Gagnon, The American Idol Contestant Who Impressed Judges With Cover Of Whitney Houston’s Run To You
The episode also saw two eliminations– Roman Collins and Jayna Elise while Julia Gagnon and nine others were declared as this season’s top 10.
One of the shining stars of American Idol Season 22, Julia Gagnon, not only impressed the judges with her singing but established herself as a worthy competitor for this season’s title. To secure herself in the top 10, she sang the cover of Whitney Houston’s Run To You.
Billboard No. 1 Hits, pioneered in the second and fourth seasons, was the theme for Monday (April 22) night. The episode also saw two eliminations– Roman Collins and Jayna Elise while Gagnon and nine others were declared as this season’s top 10.
A Look At Julia Gagnon’s Growing Years
Born in 2002 in Guatemala, Gagnon was adopted as a baby by a loving family in the United States and raised in Cumberland, Maine. However, as she grew up, she was curious about her birth mother. Inquiring about her past, Gagnon sought out and found her biological mother. "I felt really helpless, because I can’t go to her in Guatemala. It’s really far. But she’s really proud of my voice,” she said during her auditions. SHe also mentioned that her birth mother wanted to see her “do something big” and she thought this might be her chance.
Her natural proclivity to music was found early. When Gagnon was two years old, she still remembers hammering on the keys of the grand piano in the home until her parents bought her a toy piano. That continued until Gagnon's exposure to two Broadway musicals– Wicked and The Phantom of the Opera– in middle school.
Among these, the latter was her favorite and she recalled thinking, “I really want to do that. It would be amazing.” So, she participated in a talent show and sang Popular from Wicked. “My chorus teacher Nora Krainis heard me sing and said, ‘I’m not going to let you avoid this anymore. You need to share this with the world and I’m going to help you.’,” she shared with Billboard. After this, she was part of some solos in their chorus concerts and some high school musicals including Beauty and the Beast, Sister Act, and The Addams Family. However, she only sang in school since “Competitions made me nervous and I didn’t like the idea of auditioning,” she said.
However, she was bullied in her school, and singing was something she found strength in, she said.
ALSO READ: Who Is David Archuleta? All About The American Idol Alum As He Returns To Show To Perform New Single
Julia Gagnon’s Journey So Far In American Idol Season 22
Ahead of the show, Gagnon with her her now-fiancé watched all of the episodes of season 21 on Hulu last year to prepare for the competition. Speaking about her learning from the show, Gagnon said she has learned to be herself. “It’s easier said than done,” she said.
She added, “For a long time during this competition, I was trying to be a heightened version of myself, singing hard-hitting soul songs every time. But then I realized that just because you can do something doesn’t mean you always need to. You can hold back. You can let loose. You can have intimate moments and diva moments and it can all be you. You could be vulnerable. You could be soft. You can change your tone. You can tell a story and that is really important. The last couple of rounds, I was struggling with who I was.”
The peak moment for her on the show was the Sunday episode for the top 12. After her Sunday performance, she received a standing ovation from the audience and the three judges– Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.
Latest Articles
