Melissa McGhee

Infobox musical artist 2
Name = Melissa McGhee


Img_capt =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Melissa Christine McGhee
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1984|9|14
Died =
Origin = Tampa, Florida, U.S.
Genre = Pop/Country
Years_active = 2006—present
Label =
Related_acts =

Melissa Christine McGhee (born September 14, 1984 in Tampa, Florida) is an American singer and was the 12th place finalist on the fifth season of "American Idol".

Personal life

Born in Tampa, Florida, Melissa began singing at four years old. Prior to being a contestant on the popular singing competition, "American Idol", she participated in various beauty pageants. Shortly after making the top 24 on the show, an article was released which had stated that McGhee's parents had both been in conflict with the law all of her life, although she herself had never disclosed on the show. McGhee is the oldest of four children, and one of her siblings, Crystal Johnson, is also a singer and has signed a recording contract with Divercity Records under the artist name of LIL' Crystal. McGhee graduated from Sickles High School in 2003.

American Idol

In 2003, McGhee had auditioned for the second season of "American Idol", but didn't advance through the early audition rounds. In 2005, McGhee decided to audition again. She took her first plane ride from Florida to Colorado, where she has family which she stayed with during the audition rounds. She was able to proceed to the third audition round in which she auditioned in front of Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul, and Simon Cowell. She chose to sing "Can't Fight The Moonlight" by LeAnn Rimes. Despite Simon giving her a 6 out of 10, she was given a "yes" by the majority of the judges, and flew out to Hollywood. During the round in which contestants break into groups and perform a song, Simon declared her group the best of the day. During the "Green Mile" episode, it was revealed that McGhee would be one of the top 24 contestants vying for America's vote. McGhee began to be perceived as an underdog as she received no airtime prior to being told she made the top 24, a situation that just one other contestant faced that season. During the semifinals, she seemed to garner support from judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul, yet Simon continually criticized her performances. After performing What About Love by the rock band Heart, Simon told her that she would be going home. He was proven wrong during the results show when, what came to a surprise to many viewers, McGhee was the final girl to advance to the top 12, over Ayla Brown. During the first week of the finals, along with the other 11 contestants, she met with Stevie Wonder, and was embarrassed when she flubbed the lyrics to his song, "Lately" in front of him. She did the same thing during her performance, flubbing a verse and singing the word recognition rather than premonition in the chorus. On March 15, 2006 it was revealed that she received the lowest number of votes and she would be the contestant leaving that week, placing 12th overall.

Performances and results (during voting weeks)

* McGhee also sang sang "I Made It Through The Rain" on the finale with fellow top 12 contestants and Carrie Underwood, as well as a medley with the other top 12 girls. She also sang in a duet with Ace Young.

Post "American Idol"

She has sung at various festivals such as Weeki Wachee Springs and the Pet Rock Festival. McGhee also went on tour with Ruben Studdard from October 3rd to 7th. She recently had vocal surgery, but has made a full recovery. McGhee also stars and sings in the new More TV 32 commercial singing "More, More, More". She also appeared at VH1's "Big in '06" along with Katharine McPhee. She recently appeared at The Nevada Ballet Honors Paula Abdul as 2007 Woman of The Year along with some fellow past "Idol" contestants. She appeared on The Dr. Keith Ablow Show on February 9 talking about life after "Idol". She has since performed at various concerts and festivals throughout Florida. McGhee had postponed an album, stating she wants to find out who she is as an artist, but is now in the beginning stages of recording an album.

ongs

External links

*AI contestant|5|melissa_mcghee|Melissa McGhee
*MySpace|melissamcgheemusic|Official Melissa McGhee Music
*MySpace|melissa1914|Melissa McGhee
* [http://www.sptimes.com/2006/03/06/Artsandentertainment/Tampa_Idol_contestant.shtml Tampa Idol contestant singing her heart out.]
* [http://www.sptimes.com/2006/06/09/Hernando/Idol_finalist_takes_o.shtml Idol finalist takes an underwater gig.]