Stephanie Edwards is an American singer and was the eleventh-place finalist on the sixth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''. She is from

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

and first began singing around the age of two or three. After graduating from

Windsor Forest High School Windsor Forest High School is a public high school in the Windsor Forest section of Savannah, Georgia, United States. Managed by the Savannah-Chatham County School Board of Education, its attendance area includes the southside Savannah neighborhoo ...

in Savannah, Edwards pursued vocal instruction for a month and then appeared at the

Apollo Theatre The Apollo Theatre is a listed building, Grade II listed West End theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue in the City of Westminster, in central London.

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan ...

when she competed in "

It's Showtime at the Apollo English auxiliary verbs are a small set of English verbs, which include the English modal auxiliary verbs and a few others. Although the auxiliary verbs of English are widely believed to lack inherent semantic meaning and instead to modify the ...

".Morris, Amy (February 20, 2007). "Stephanie Edwards: Savannah Idol local singer vies for title of 'American Idol'", ''

Savannah Morning News The ''Savannah Morning News'' is a daily newspaper in Savannah, Georgia. It is published by Gannett. The motto of the paper is "Light of the Coastal Empire and Lowcountry". The paper serves Savannah, its Savannah metropolitan area, metropolitan ...

'', p. A1. Prior to ''American Idol'', she had won most singing contests she had entered, including "Savannah Star" in 2005.

''American Idol''

Edwards first auditioned for

, in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. She was the only one of the top 12 contestants on ''Idol'' not presented in the TV tryouts preceding the naming of the top 24 semi-finalists. During the initial broadcast for the Top 24, she was praised for her rendition of “

How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore?" is a song by Prince (musician), Prince. It is a Sentimental ballad, ballad of romantic longing with some Gospel music, gospel elements. On his original recording of the song, which was released as the non-album ...

,” by Prince. For her second semifinal performance, Edwards attempted the song “

Dangerously in Love ''Dangerously in Love'' is the debut solo studio album by American singer and songwriter Beyoncé. It was released on June 20, 2003, by Columbia Records and Music World Entertainment. During the recording of Destiny's Child's third studio albu ...

,” to which

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive, television presenter and musician, best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing b ...

exclaimed that she "sang her face off," although he felt her performance was too much like the original. The next week, she had another winning performance with the song " Sweet Thing". According to the judges, she was "darn near flawless and had a good command of the stage." On March 8, 2007, Edwards made it into Top 12. For the first theme week, she performed

Diana Ross Diana Ross (born Diane Ernestine Earle Ross March 26, 1944) is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown#Major divisions, Motown's most suc ...

' song "

Love Hangover "Love Hangover" is a song by the American singer Diana Ross, recorded in 1975 and released as a single on March 16, 1976. It rose to number one on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and Hot-Selling Soul Singles. It also hit number one on the Record Wor ...

." Edwards forgot her words at one point during the song. The judges bashed her arrangement of the song, saying that she teased them with the good part and then never delivered. Despite the criticism, she advanced to the Top 11. She was eliminated from the show on March 21, 2007. She missed the summer tour along with Brandon Rogers.

''American Idol'' performances

Post-''American Idol''

After ''American Idol'', Edwards recorded a charity single called "On Our Way"McGinn, Andrew (April 23, 2008).
Back to school, studio for former 'Idol' finalist Stephanie Edwards
, ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'', p. D2. Retrieved February 15, 2011. which was written by Julie Wilde and became available in early-October 2007 as a CD single on

eBay eBay Inc. ( , often stylized as ebay) is an American multinational e-commerce company based in San Jose, California, that allows users to buy or view items via retail sales through online marketplaces and websites in 190 markets worldwide. ...

. Sales of the album benefit the

Leukemia and Lymphoma Society The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS), a 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 1949, is a voluntary health organization dedicated to fighting blood cancer world-wide. LLS funds blood cancer research on cures for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin ...

'
Light the Night Walk
. Her second single, "Here I Am", was also written by Wilde. It was released in April 2008. Edwards performed the song on '' American Idol Extra.'' In 2008, she was studying towards a psychology degree at

Armstrong Atlantic State University Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places * Armstrong River (disambiguation), various rivers Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victori ...

in Savannah. In 2010, Edwards performed in a review show ''Southern Nights'' at the Savannah Theatre.Mobley, Chuck (March 18, 2010). "Stephanie Edwards to appear at Savannah Theatre", ''

'', p. E4. She sang several classics including Georgia on My Mind, Midnight Train to Georgia, and At Last.

References

External links

*
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society
{{DEFAULTSORT:Edwards, Stephanie 1987 births Living people 21st-century American singers American Idol participants Singers from Baltimore Singers from Georgia (U.S. state) 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers 21st-century American women singers 21st-century African-American women singers