Lil Rounds

Lil Rounds was a finalist on the eigth season of American Idol. She was born and raised in Memphis, TN. Music runs in her family as her grandmother once worked with B.B. King. Lil Rounds auditioned in Kansas City Missouri, where she received high praises from all judges saying that she was one of the best to audition, and that they thought she was a combination of Mary J Blige and Fantasia. In Hollywood week round 1, she received a standing ovation from Kara Dioguardi and Paula Abdul after her rendition of “I Will Always Love You” by Dolly Parton. Her semifinal performance, “Be Without You”, was highly praised by the judges allowing her to join the finals. After the top 36 performance, she was considered an early front runner in which Simon Cowell stated he would think Rounds would be in the top 3 along with Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey during his interview on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She was eliminated on April 22 along with Anoop Desai, and returned for the Season 8 Finale on May 20, 2009 performing “Cue the Rain” with Queen Latifah.

She lives with her family: her husband and three children. She said her dream mentor would be Stevie Wonder. Her grandfather once worked with B.B. King. She auditioned for the eigth season of AI in Kansas City, Missouri. The judges loved her sound, although Simon thought that she was almost too similar to Tina Turner.