American Idol season 20 contestant Danielle Finn has released her first original song to the world. It’s titled “Brace Yourself,” and the 17 year old student from Los Angeles couldn’t be more excited.
“My first original is officially OUT NOW!! Go stream BRACE YOURSELF on Spotify, Apple Music, iTunes etc,” Danielle writes on social media. “I’m so excited to begin my musical journey with all of you guys. But, a special thank you to my producer – @__strath for helping me with the beautiful, mysterious, majestic sounding song. He hit it right one the nose!!” The song is written by Danielle and Ben Strathmore.
“Brace Yourself” is characterized by Danielle’s deep mesmerizing tone, backed by lush strings and otherworldly backing vocals. Listen to the new song below.
Luke Bryan almost said NO
At her Los Angeles audition, Danielle performed “Mirror” by Madison Ryan Ward for the Idol judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. Luke had to be convinced, even after Katy asked Danielle to sing the song in a higher key, and she obliged. An exasperated Katy turned to Luke and chastised him for writing “no” on his paper. “It just wasn’t exciting!” Luke said. But when she continued to sing, in the higher key, and turned it up a notch, Luke changed his mind and Danielle received 3 yeses and a ticket to Hollywood.
Next in Hollywood, for the initial Gender Challenge Round, Danielle shared that her grandfather has Alzheimer’s, and wasn’t fully aware of her Idol journey. Still, Danielle was convinced he was with her in spirit. Her performance of “Easy On Me” by Adele on the Orpheum stage had the crowd shouting and the judges nodding and going “wow!” Katy spun in her chair with her hands in the air! Next stop for Danielle on the day of her single release: Hollywood Week Duets.
Danielle is an observant Modern Orthodox Jew
An interesting fun fact about Danielle: She’s an observant Orthodox Jew, but “modern” meaning that she can sing alone in front of men, a thing generally forbidden in the Orthodox tradition. Currently, she’s a senior at a Jewish high school in Los Angeles. Danielle says that the show has made it really easy for her to keep kosher and observe Shabbat during the competition. “I feel like I’m making a great representation of the Jewish community [on the show],” Danielle told STLJewishLight.org.
