Katherine Mari "Katie" Stevens (born December 8, 1992) is an American singer from Middlebury, Connecticut who finished in eighth place on the ninth season of American Idol
Biography
Stevens grew up in Middlebury, Connecticut. Her parents are Mark Stevens and Clara Francisco.[1] Her Portuguese grandmother, Rita Francisco, is battling Alzheimer's disease.[2] Stevens graduated from Pomperaug High School in Southbury, Connecticut in June 2010.[2] She was named the 2009 Westbury Outstanding Teen at the Greater Watertown Scholarship Pageant.[3] Stevens speaks Portuguese.
Stevens was instrumental in the creation of the Evan Gagnon Memorial Scholarship Fund, which gives college scholarships to the seniors of Pomperaug High School. Evan Gagnon, who died in January 2009 at the age of 2, was the son of Stevens' Spanish teacher.[4] Stevens has also been a member of Pomperaug's High School Varsity Swim Team all four years.
Stevens first performed for an audience at five years old, when she sang the national anthem at a party for a politician in her hometown.[5] When she was 7 years old, she sang From This Moment On by Shania Twain at her aunt's wedding. Since she was young, Stevens has been active in her local theater community. She played the role of Dorothy in both BSS Children's Theater and Main Street Theater's Wizard of OZ. At Main Street Theater Stevens also played the role of Sharpay in High School Musical and "The Cat" in Honk. She played Nellie Forbush in Pomperaug High School's South Pacific as well.[6] In addition, Stevens performed at Carnegie Hall at the age of 13.[7]
She counts Whitney Houston and Jason Mraz among her favorite artists. Her musical influences include Taylor Swift, and her own brother, Ryan Stevens.[8] Among the instruments she can play are guitar, piano, cello, and flute; however, she never had a chance to play them on American Idol prior to her elimination from the competition.
American Idol
On August 13, 2009, she auditioned for American Idol in Boston, Massachusetts and sang "At Last", where all four judges (including guest judge Victoria Beckham) advanced her to Hollywood. At the Boston audition, judge Kara DioGuardi called her one of the most talented 16-year olds she had ever seen. In Hollywood, judge Kara DioGuardi made the prediction, "You could be the potential winner."
On March 24, 2010, Stevens landed in the bottom 3 during elimination night, along with Paige Miles and Tim Urban. She was proclaimed safe, giving her a spot on the American Idol summer tour.
Most of the critiques the judges have given her have been in regards to her pitch, age, and song choice. In her performance of "Chain of Fools", DioGuardi told her she had found were she belonged: R&B/Pop, but she needed to work on being younger. She landed in the bottom 3 the following night but was declared safe putting her into the Top 9. In her Top 9 performance of "Let It Be", all of the judges thought it was a huge improvement. Ellen stated that she wouldn't be in the bottom 3 after that performance. Simon said that she had did what she was told by being Country, while Kara and Randy disagreed, opining that she has more of an R&B sensibility. Nonetheless, her performance secured her a position in the Top 8. However, the Top 9 remained intact for another week due to the judges' save of Michael Lynche.
Stevens was eliminated from American Idol the following week on April 14, along with Andrew Garcia. Her elimination came second on the double elimination night.
Although she was close to everybody, she was especially good friends with Lacey Brown, Paige Miles, Haeley Vaughn, Andrew Garcia, and Lee DeWyze. She was also close to a few of the cut Hollywood contestants.
PerformancesWeek # Theme Song choice Original artist Order # Result Audition Auditioner's Choice "At Last" Glenn Miller and his Orchestra N/A Advanced Hollywood First Solo Performance "For Once in My Life" Stevie Wonder N/A Advanced Hollywood Group Performance "No One" Alicia Keys N/A Advanced Hollywood Second Solo "Chasing Pavements" Adele N/A Advanced Top 24 (12 Women) Billboard Hot 100 Hits "Feeling Good" Cy Grant 12 Safe Top 20 (10 Women) "Put Your Records On" Corinne Bailey Rae 4 Safe Top 16 (8 Women) "Breakaway" Kelly Clarkson 1 Safe Top 12 The Rolling Stones "Wild Horses" The Rolling Stones 6 Safe Top 11 Billboard #1 Hits "Big Girls Don't Cry" Fergie 8 Bottom 31 Top 10 R&B/Soul "Chain of Fools" Aretha Franklin 7 Bottom 31 Top 9 Lennon/McCartney "Let It Be" The Beatles 2 Safe Top 92 Elvis Presley "Baby, What You Want Me to Do" Jimmy Reed 8 Eliminated
Post-Idol
After her elimination, Stevens made several appearances on talk shows. On April 16, 2010, she appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show where she performed "Over the Rainbow". Stevens also appeared on The Late Show with David Letterman along with Andrew Garcia, where they sang "Superhuman" by Chris Brown and Keri Hilson. She also, along with Andrew Garcia, appeared on the Wendy Williams Show where she performed "Big Girls Don't Cry".
From July 1 - August 31, Stevens toured with the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2010. On tour, she sang "Here We Go Again" by Demi Lovato and "Fighter" by Christina Aguilera.
After the tour, Katie moved to Los Angeles where she began writing an album. She has yet to be signed with a recording label, but has been writing songs with David Hodges. As of early November, Stevens has written a total of 9 songs, including one named "Waste My Time".[9]
Stevens announced on November 11, 2010 via twitter that she will be performing on "Portugal Idol" on December 12, 2010.
