Season 9 Preview: Ashley Makailah

By On 01/05/2010 · 13 Comments · In AI Season 9

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This is our continuation of our preview of possible Season 9 contestants. Remember, that the Hollywood round doesn’t occur until January 9th this year. We don’t know how far any of these contestants might go. And since we never see some of the competition round contestants until the competition starts, we might never see some of these people. We might have even found the wrong person with the same name.

Number 17 : Ashley Makailah
Age: ~22
Home town: Boston, MA
Style: R&B/Gospel

Pictures/Myspace/Links after the jump

Picture 1 Picture 2
Myspace
Gravity (recorded youtube) Gravity (live youtube)
Singer’s Showcase (youtube)
All About Love (youtube)
Crazy Race/The Goodlife (youtube)
News Article – ABC (youtube)
USA Today Article (includes a video of an interview with Fox affiliate)
Biography

Ashley is talented, has a great backstory and is good looking (and we all know that is part of the litmus test for Simon). Ashley is an inner city kid whose parents could not afford to get her involved in music or dance. In stepped the prestigious Berklee College of Music with one of their outreach programs that gave her the opportunity to develop her skills. They went on to give her a full-ride scholarship to their school.

From the rumblings of TPTB and fan speculation, it seems like this year is going to be a girl’s year. I think Ashley could be one of the contenders. She sings well, she’s poised and she fits the AI definition of “commercial”. Her style seems current. Perhaps she’s a bit low-key and Idol tends to favour the bombast. Plus, there a lot of great girls going to Hollywood. She’s got the goods, but she may need to sparkle a bit to get noticed in the crowd. Smart song choices and showing personality will be essential.

What do you think?

Spoilers from IDF.

 
  • itsalleternal

    All signs seem to suggest that she could be a force to be reckoned with. She does seem to have a lot going for her, and is definitely capable of being a top contender, especially if she can break out of the pack. Her biggest concern is that there could be a jinx situation set up, like with Cardin McKinney in Season 7 where early buzz turned out to be meaningless.

  • auntieaimee

    This girl is my frontrunner. When I first listened to her clips, she DAZZLED me, and I’m one of those annoying, not easily impressed music snobs. I hope she does really well. *fingers crossed* I just think she’s fantastic.

  • terps

    Now this is the first preview I have been impressed with!! She will go far on this show.

  • dhealy2003

    Love her. I think she has potential to go all the way. She’s got it all!

    Please feature Jeffrey David Goldford. He’s incredible!

  • jms

    wow. I really, really like this girl. Hope she goes far and we get to see lots more of her.

  • sonyab

    Nah she didn’t impress me or wow me.

  • Nico

    @Kristen and MJ

    I have a preview suggestion. The article about Kara DioGuardi in which she said: I would say that there were more than a few times this season that someone walked in and sang and I was shocked that they didn’t have the appearance to have that voice. It was just kind of a “Whoa, where did that come from? Hold up.” It’s like Susan Boyle. got me interested. Since AI got the age limit, America’s SuBo should be (hope it won’t be taken as an offense) unattractive, weird, fat, a person that doesn’t take care of herself and needs some serious fashion advice, and of course – she needs the pipes! So I think this is America’s own SuBo – meet Shannon Ann Marie Turner. She’s got all the SuBo features, plus some theatre background and reminds me of Beth Ditto (the vocalist of The Gossip). Her personality is interesting, VFTW found this on her Facebook:
    * “I worked at Wendy’s as a teenager. It was everything you think it is. I used to bum smokes from my 50 year old bottle blond manager who had jailhouse tatoos”
    * “I like changing the lyrics of songs to include the words “Fuck Your Mom”. I do it all the time. the prettier the song, the funnier it is.”
    * “I’m a little gay.”
    * “I’m going to stalk all you people…then make you buy me a cupcake.”
    Also her ‘stage presence’ (movement, facial expressions etc) is enterteining :)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d8F30dCFbRI
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AD1_syO6-HU (the same song as above but homemade video)
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boIb72n2UEQ

  • Kirsten

    Her personality is interesting, VFTW found this on her Facebook:

    Hmmm…that doesn’t sound very much a like a cat lady. How they are supposed to build a backstory out of that? I think that critical to the SuBo story is just not that she’s kind of frumpy, but that she also devoted her life to taking care of her Mom and now she finally has her chance (I did some market surverying of SuBo owners this Christmas and found that the “gave up her promising musical career to take care of her Mom” was a key factor in their SuBo fandom. That and the fact that everybody thinks she’s 60 so this is her last chance (I thought she was only 48).

    I think we need a combo of not perhaps being traditionally good looking (but a nice make-over will fix that) combined with a slice of having subjugated their dreams to take care of somebody else. Like those two repeat auditioners we’ve discussed here (the one who takes care of her feisty grandma and the one who has a child with Rhett syndrome). Plus, you need that kind of mellow voice that won’t scare the Chicken Soup for the Soul crowd.

    VFTW is going to love Shannon, but I don’t think the SuBo fans will bite. I say she doesn’t make the Top 24 unless she’s cannon fodder for another frumpy person (“see, TheChosenFrumpyOne (TCFO) is more digestible than this one”).

  • Nico

    Yeah she doesn’t have much backstory, unless they are hiding it from us. Kara’s reference to SuBo wasn’t about the backstory though – it was about the appearance – so in this sense she fits well.

    Well guess I have something of a Worster in me – she’s tacky and over the top and frumpy and can sing – I love Shannon (in a non-ramantic way that is). She can provide lots of enterteinment, I can already see her doing a lap dance for Simon live or other obscene things hahahaha Ai is a karaoke reality show – as a show it must be interesting. It it was all about singing it should have been been on the radio to give everybody fair and square chances :D I do think she might get at least to top 12. I didn’t followed AI, but I think there wasn’t a contestant like her before (frumpy, tacky, over the top with pipes) so that’s how the AI machine can pimp her – as something unpopular in a show that’s a big part of today’s POP(ular)culture. This + some votes from people appreciating her talent + some people like her with a dream but no guts to fight for it _ votes from the Worsters = we shouldn’t underestimate her. Of course she won’t win, she won’t go far, but if they let her past the Hollywood rounds we may see her few times. Her performance can give the WTF factor Allison had when she sang Alone directly after her akward interview.

  • chessguy99

    Ashely is TPTB’s perfect package; looks, vocals, performance skills, feel good back story. Only a breakdown in Hollywood could prevent Ashely from making Top 24. And once in the voting rounds I think she’ll do well. She auditioned in Boston, so well see soon if she develops into a real frontrunner. She may well get the first pimp spot of the season, the final audition of the first show.

  • smartcookie

    Shannen is the female Normund Gentle, except I think he was a better singer.

    Or maybe just Nathaniel Whatever-His-Name-Was, who I’m still convinced they only put in the Top 32 because he made Adam look butch. Him and Von and Normund. They were the back-up fodder, in the way Kirsten describes. Wrap the chosen ones in fluffy soft cannon fodder to protect them!

  • justjude

    Ashley, she is a lovely dessert that many will not be able to resist!
    A looker with a very good voice! Now let’s hope for a charismatic personality!

    Shannen, She is the “Meat”, and needs to be well seasoned, and dressed, to be appealling. Hmmm, there are lots of “vegetarians” who won’t want to bite! If she makes it long enough to garner a fan base, she may, certainly, be set up for a very decent career!!
    She is NOT a SuBo….Needs much more of a backstory. I actually think
    SuBo is more filtered than Shannen is!LOL

  • SexyEvey

    Hi everyone!!!! You guys probably know me from always posting on the Adam threads but I actually got really excited about Ashley Makailah when I read about her a few weeks back and heard some of her youtube recordings. I decided to build her an “UNOFFICIAL OFFICIAL” fansite as a place to compile clips, videos (sort of a one stop shop lol) and that anyone could comment on if they wanted to. Let me know what you think, I really do think she has a great chance at winning!!

    http://www.ashleymakailah.com

    She is so talented and im sure MJ wouldn’t mind a Boston girl winning it all =)