AMERICAN IDOL - "305 (Auditions)"- ABC's "American Idol" auditions across Savannah, Georgia; Milwaukee, Wisconsin; Washington, D.C.; Los Angeles, California; and Sunriver, Oregon, come to an end on SUNDAY, MARCH 15 (8:00-10:00 p.m. EDT), with the final search for America's next superstar. (ABC/Eliza Morse) ALIANA JESTER
American Idol returns with an all-new episode on Sunday night, during which the reality competition series’ wraps up its final round of open call auditions. Hosted Ryan Seacrest, judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, Luke Bryan will sort through and vote on this last batch of contestants that are hoping to receive Golden Tickets to Los Angeles.
Standing out from the crowd on March 15, Aliana Jester, a singer from Tampa, Florida. When the 19-year-old auditioned for America Idol, she received a standing ovation, so she is definitely one to watch out for once Hollywood Week kicks off on Monday night.
Heres what you need to know about Aliana Jester:
1. Aliana Has Previously Auditioned For ‘The Voice’ and ‘America’s Got Talent’
When American Idol‘s bus tour stopped in Mobile, Alabama, according to Al.com, Aliana stood out from the crowd after performing sections of Beyonce’s “Listen” and Jackson 5’s “Who’s Loving You,” which earned a spot in the next round of competition, where she would sing for the show’s executive producers.
After trying to make it on both America’s Got Talent and The Voice, Aliana told Al.com, “I’m super excited. My hope is to learn and grow through this experience.”
Idol’s Senior Supervising Producer Patrick Lynn said of the auditions this year, “We have refined this process down to a well-oiled machine. We know what we’re doing. We don’t have any kind of quota. We will send through as many people as we think are good enough. It’s kind of simple as that.”
2. Aliana Chopped Off All Her Hair In July 2019
While Aliana is rocking short curly hair on America Idol, back in 2019, she had extremely long locks. In photos, even when curled, Aliana’s hair touched all the way down her back.
However, during the summertime last year, the singer was ready for a huge change. After making the cut, she posted her new on Instagram with the low-key caption, “So I kinda did a thing.
It’s obvious that the 19-year-old performer is a beautiful young woman, and that she can easily pull off both looks.
3. Aliana Started A GoFundMe Account To Help ‘Accomplish Her Dreams’
In December 2019, Aliana started her own GoFundMe account. As stated on the official page, “I’m currently reaching for the stars and trying to achieve my dreams! Unfortunately, I’m unable to work until further notice but still have some responsibilities needing to be taking care of both personal and physical (car insurance, phone bill, gas, etc). It would mean the absolute world to me and my family if you were able to help me out financially as I take this next step towards my dreams!”
As of March 15, Aliana reached $1,225 of her $3,000 goal. According to the timeline of Aliana’s audition for Idol, and the need to take off time from work perfectly coincided with the singer’s need to travel to Hollywood and Hawaii for the Idol‘s following rounds of competition.
4. Aliana’s Service Dog Nova Lady Accompanies Her Into The ‘American Idol’ Audition
The reality competition series is always throwing audiences surprises, and so it seems totally on-brand for the show to allow Aliana to bring her dog with her in to audition. Nova Lady, Aliana’s French bulldog, is absolutely adorable and appears to behave well during his owner’s big time to shine.
Nova Lady is the Jester family’s dog, so it’s unclear whether or not the dog will also be making appearances during Hollywood and beyond.
5. Aliana’s Cover Of Whitney Houston’s ‘I Will Always Love You’ Leaves Audiences Floored
Very few singers on American Idol, let alone in the world, attempt to cover Whitney Houston’s most famous song because the vocal talent required to sing it well is beyond most people’s talent. However, Aliana takes the theme song from The Bodyguard with confidence, and after listening, it’s easy to understand why she’s an early frontrunner on American Idol.
While the singer only has 95 subscribers on YouTube, and 1,400 followers on Instagram, Aliana can expect those numbers to skyrocket once national TV audiences hear her amazing vocals.
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