Pro Athletic Performance training local athletes
July 2, 2013
Barbara Ann Dupre Comeaux
July 8, 2013
J’Leigh Chauvin is no stranger to the limelight. As a child she sang in the bathtub, and since then she has won several local singing contests and even competed on the national level.
“My mom said that I would be in the Walmart shopping cart and I would sing,” she recalled. “A lot of people would come on the end of the aisle and say, ‘Oh my God, that’s your daughter? I thought it was the radio.’”
J’Leigh, 18, began singing competitively when she was 9 to prepare for a school play. After winning Park Idol in her hometown of Larose at age 12, she became the Lafourche Parish state champion for the 2011 Louisiana Farm Bureau Talent Contest. Last year, she took top honors at CenterStage in Houma and Stage Door Idol at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans.
For CenterStage, J’Leigh was among more than a hundred who auditioned for the opportunity to win a recording contract and other prizes. She and the other finalists starred in a music video promoting various automobile companies. Following a well-received performance of Brandi Carlisle’s “The Story” on acoustic guitar, she sang Susan Tedeschi’s “It Hurt so Bad.”
Despite competing at CenterStage since childhood without ever winning and facing “pretty stiff competition” in the most recent contest, J’Leigh persisted and achieved first place. “This year, (CenterStage organizer Ann Duplantis) said, ‘You finally brought it. You finally gave me what I’ve been looking for.’ It took long enough, but I did it,” J’Leigh said.
Music runs in J’Leigh’s family: “My dad will sing Johnny Cash, and he sounds really good … My mom can sing, too. She likes to sing with me.” Her mother, Jessica, encourages her to pursue every opportunity to showcase her talent and love for singing, from local shows to state competitions to national television.
J’Leigh auditioned for “American Idol” in 2010, 2011 and 2012, getting a golden ticket to Hollywood every year. However, her nerves got the best of her, and she was sent home in the first round for seasons 10 and 11. Last year, she made it to the group round, and her group’s performance was televised for Season 12. An upper respiratory infection cut her journey short that time, but she’s not going to give up anytime soon.
“It really helps you become better for next year,” she said. “I don’t get nervous as much as I used to. Having to sing in front of celebrities, I think that’s the worst it’s going to get.”
J’Leigh stuck with what she was used to singing for her first year auditioning for “Idol,” performing songs by Ella Fitzgerald and similar artists. The next year, she decided to cover more upbeat artists, such as Bruno Mars. She typically chooses audition songs randomly, but last year she decided to go with Smokey Robinson’s “Who’s Loving You” so she could sing to judge Keith Urban.
Getting to know the eventual “Idol” winners was a surreal experience for J’Leigh. “I’ll be watching TV, and I’m like, ‘Oh my God, I talked to you. I talked to you in person, and you’re the next American Idol.’” She remembers standing in line next to Season 10 winner Scotty McCreery, who chatted with her and handed her the microphone when it was her turn to sing. Since being on “Idol,” J’Leigh has experienced newfound fame as well, with people attending her performances after finding out that she was on the show.
In 2011, after Steven Tyler suggested that some of the “Idol” contestants could benefit from playing in nightclubs, J’Leigh answered an advertisement looking for a female vocalist to perform with a band called Almost Famous. After the initial run, she and the male vocalist left but have since returned and are now in the process of reforming the group with new musicians. They plan to start playing live shows again in the fall.
“I thought I would end up doing like Norah Jones, stuff like that, but then I got into a rock band,” J’Leigh said. “It’s a totally different level of music and a totally different atmosphere. The crowd cheering you on, it’s just awesome.”
On her personal style, J’Leigh said, “If I could mix Lana Del Ray, Amy Winehouse, Norah Jones and Brandi Carlisle all together and make a baby, that’s what I would say is my style.” Her musical tastes vary from Rihanna to Ray LaMontagne to Billie Holiday. “My all-time favorite song is ‘I’ll Be Seeing You’ by Billie Holiday. I imagine that I’m singing it to Ryan Gosling,” she said with a laugh.
J’Leigh’s dream job would be at a venue where she could dress up and perform 1940s music, like she did for Stage Door Idol. While working on this goal, she wants to continue auditioning for “American Idol” as well as “The X-Factor.” In the meantime, she’s planning on recording a couple original songs as part of the recording contract she won at CenterStage.
If a music career doesn’t work out, J’Leigh has a backup plan: being a makeup artist. She particularly enjoys doing zombie-style makeup and would enjoy working in the film or theatre industry. But for now, music is her first priority, and she’s going to continue adding to her experience.
“A lot of musicians and singers, once they fail or get told no, they give up, but my motto is, ‘If at first you don’t succeed, try, try, try and try again.’”
– bridget@gumboguide.com
J’Leigh Chauvin performs in Stage Door Idol at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, a contest she won. J’Leigh, still trying to turn her voice into a career is also the reigning champion of Houma’s CenterStage. Auditions for the local contest are June 20 at the former New York and Company store in Southland Mall.
