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Slide Show: Dream big, 'Idol' singer tells Union students
Melinda Doolittle answers students' questions Friday at McAuliffe Elementary School. SHERRY BROWN/Tulsa World
By CARY ASPINWALL World Scene Writer
Published: 9/5/2009 2:24 AM
Last Modified: 9/5/2009 9:45 AM
As a young girl sitting in class at McAuliffe Elementary, Melinda Doolittle liked to dream big.
And most of her wildest dreams came true after she wowed judges and fans on the sixth season of "American Idol."
Though she came in third, she got a record deal, performs nationwide and is living her dream.
So she returned to Union Public Schools this week to share her dreams with other kids.
She toured McAuliffe and answered questions for students, treating them to an impromptu performance. Later, she visited the high school for a pep rally and sang the national anthem and a halftime show Friday night.
"Go for that dream you have way down deep in your heart," she told the pre-kindergarten through fifth grade students at McAuliffe. She wasn't always a sought-after singing talent — people used to ask her not to sing out loud, she said.
When she told her mother she dreamed of being a singer, her mother said: "Honey, you're going to have to pray very hard."
"So I prayed very hard," she said.
She also worked hard, studying music at Belmont University and working as a back-up singer for artists such as Aaron Neville, Michael McDonald, BeBe and CeCe Winans and Jonny Lang. Then she auditioned for "Idol," wowing even persnickety judge Simon Cowell — who said Doolittle reminded him of a young Gladys Knight.
Linda Jones taught Doolittle in music classes when she attended McAuliffe in 1988, and she was there to see her student return
as a star. "She was a very good singer then, but not nearly as powerful as she became on 'Idol,' " Jones said. "She was amazing — and so humble."
Doolittle came in third on season six behind winner Jordin Sparks and runner-up Blake Lewis, but Doolittle said she's thrilled to have done so well on the show.
Now, she's getting ready to tour; promoting her new album, "Coming Back to You"; and spreading the word about charity Malaria No More. Her Tulsa visit was a short homecoming to the town where she lived from ages 10 to 20. She hopes to come back on tour soon.
"Are you guys big dreamers here? What do you want to be?" Doolittle asked the McAuliffe students. Their answers: To grow up. To be an artist. To do Supercross.
"Duuuude!!!" Doolittle responded. She asked the students to promise: I'm going to go for my dreams, no matter what.
But what everyone really wanted was to hear her sing, so one fifth grade boy got her to do just that when she called on him.
"I should have never picked this one," she said, sighing. But she gave in and treated her audience to a few bars from "Since You've Been Gone (Sweet Sweet Baby)" and "I'm a Woman."
She left the students with a challenge: Dream big.
"I want to hear about you guys someday, OK?"
Slide Show
To see all of the Tulsa World slide shows, go to tulsaworld.com/photos.
Cary Aspinwall 581-8477
cary.aspinwall@tulsaworld.com
By CARY ASPINWALL World Scene Writer
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