LOS ANGELES. Calif. — Will Georgia’s own Megan Danielle be the next American Idol?
The Douglasville native has already cracked the top three and the winner will be crowned during Sunday’s season finale on Channel 2. The finale starts LIVE at 8 p.m.
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Channel 2′s Heather Catlin spoke with Danielle, who describes herself as a Christian artist, about how the experience has been.
“I’m just feeling so grateful and blessed. It took me a long time to believe I could really be in this position, so it’s just, this is amazing,” she said.
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Before we find out who the next American Idol is, Channel 2 Action News is taking a looking back at Danielle’s journey to stardom.
She started out the competition with a surprise appearance by one of her idols, and fellow American Idol alum and Christian artist, Lauren Daigle.
For her audition, Danielle sang one Daigle’s biggest hits, “You Say” for judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, but was stopped midway through the song when Daigle entered the audition room and began singing with her.
“What you have is a real, honest rawness. It’s like unpolished diamond stuff going on,” Bryan described.
After getting all three judges to agree she should advance, Danielle took on Hollywood Week, which featured the Performance Challenge, Duets Challenge and Showstopper Round.
For the Showstopper Round, Danielle performed Lady Gaga’s “Always Remember Us This Way” from “A Star is Born.”
The judges had 26 spots to advance past the Showstopper Round and were torn on whether or not Danielle should advance. To decide, they had her participate in a sing-off with 16-year-old Paige Anne to Adele’s “Easy On Me.”
She was able to beat out Anne for the final spot in the Top 26.
Danielle celebrated her 21st birthday on the show by tackling Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” for the Top 26 round.
For the Top 20 round, Danielle made her way back to her Christian roots and performed We The Kingdom’s “Holy Water.”
The American Idol stage transitioned into live shows in April when the Top 12 was revealed.
When Danielle was announced as being among them, she performed another Lauren Daigle hit, “Thank God I Do.”
The next week, the Top 12 performed Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Week. Danielle took on “Angel from Montgomery” by John Prine.
Danielle’s performance scored her a place in the Top 10, where the contestants competed in the Judges Song Contest.
Luke Bryan selected Vince Gill’s “Go Rest High on That Mountain” for her to perform. Throughout the competition, Danielle has cited her close relationship with her late grandfather through her childhood as one of her biggest inspirations. She says the last time she performed this song was at her grandfather’s funeral.
The Top Eight finalists took on songs by guest judges Alanis Morissette and Ed Sheeran.
Danielle sang Morissette’s “Head over Feet.”
“Really soulful and expressing that ambivalence. I’m used to being hard on myself and yet here’s this person across from me loving me so well, expressing that very authentically, God bless you,” Morissette told the 21-year-old singer.
She then joined fellow Top Three finalist Colin Stough for a performance of Sheeran’s “Dive.”
After earning spot among the Top 5, the contestants participated in Disney night, singing songs that appeared in the soundtracks for Disney movies to earn their way into the grand finale.
Danielle sang Bebe Rexha’s “You Can’t Stop the Girl” from “Maleficent: Mistress of Evil” and “Carried Me With You” from “Onward” to earn her spot in the finale.
All three finalists returned to their hometowns. Douglasville celebrated Danielle with a parade and performance.
Danielle will compete against Colin Stough and Iam Tongi on Sunday night LIVE on Channel 2 at 8 p.m. to determine the next American Idol.
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