By Movieguide® Staff
Singer Melinda Doolittle is going back to school to find the next AMERICAN IDOL.
“Obviously you have a lot of talent. Do you think that there’s any left after we found you?” host Ryan Seacrest asked the AMERICAN IDOL alum in a recent episode set in Nashville.
She replied, “There’s so much. I mean, it’s Music City.”
The pair then headed to Belmont University, where Doolittle was a student. There, Seacrest and Doolittle walked around campus with a sign that said, “Stop and Sing,” giving students the chance to audition on the spot.
They wound up finding Jackie Bluebird, who earned the chance to audition for the judges, who passed her along to the next stage of the competition.
Related: Colton Dixon, Melinda Doolittle, Danny Gokey Honor Mandisa on AMERICAN IDOL
“This is the most unexpected thing to ever happen to me!” Bluebird said.
Doolittle was a contestant on AMERICAN IDOL in 2007, finishing in third place on the show’s sixth season.
“I said, ‘Melinda should’ve won,’” judge Simon Cowell said at the time. “She tried the hardest, was consistently the best, and had the best voice. I think about it now, whether I should’ve endorsed her as much as I should’ve done. I think it was the right thing to do.”
Despite not winning, Doolittle has gone on to have a successful career as a recording artist.
Speaking to The Gleaner about AMERICAN IDOL’s legacy, the singer said, “I think it’s given us a new way to introduce talent. You see shows like THE VOICE, and you realize AMERICAN IDOL started a culture of people speaking and saying what they want and making talent grow in this nation. It’s been amazing to watch. It has created a culture of people supporting talent.”
Reflecting on her own success, Doolittle said, “If I can keep doing what I am doing until I am ready to stop, I have achieved everything I have ever dreamed of. That’s a pretty cool life.”
Doolittle has stayed close to her AMERICAN IDOL roots. She recently performed on the show, paying tribute to the late Mandisa alongside Colton Dixon and Danny Gokey. The trio sang “Shackles.”
“I’ve known her for over twenty years,” Doolittle said of her friendship with Mandisa. “We started off singing background in sessions together. And then she got on IDOL, and I cheered for her, and I came the next season, and she cheered for me. That is my girl through and through.”
From Doolittle’s long career in the music industry to Bluebird’s potential as an up-and-comer, it looks like Nashville’s Belmont is the place to find stars!
Read Next: Why So Many AMERICAN IDOL Contestants are Christian: ‘Back to Their Roots’
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