Signed, Sealed, And Delivered: From Chicken Soup For The American Idol Soul
Singing is everything to me and my sister. It’s in our blood and in our souls.
The first time I remember performing was during an assembly when I was four. I sang, “I’m a Little Teapot.” But my mom told me that I really preferred doing Fred Astaire dance moves and singing songs like, “Steppin’ Out with My Baby.” I guess I have an old soul. When you’re hardly out of diapers, you usually prefer songs from Barney. I preferred songs from Singin’ in the Rain. My mom said she thought maybe I was the incarnation of Fred Astaire.
I was never like everyone else in school either. I wasn’t much of a student; I preferred to entertain. My second-grade teacher moved my desk outside the classroom because I would spontaneously burst into song and distract the other kids. She thought that if she put me where I could still hear her, but I didn’t have an audience, I might be able to learn something. I don’t think it worked, because school is still not my thing. If my sister gets a B, she feels like she’s failed; if I get a...