May 24, 2013
Wickliffe offers an ‘Idol’ to believe in
by Corianne Egan cegan@paducahsun.com
Feb 17, 2011 | 299 views | 0 0 comments | 3 3 recommendations | email to a friend | print


There’s just something about Adrienne Beasley. Her family has known that since she came to them. Steven Tyler saw it in her “American Idol” audition. On Saturday, the patrons of Casa Mexicana in Paducah saw it.

Of course, that certain something is connected to her awe-inspiring, goose-bump worthy set of pipes. But she is more than a voice.

If any of you watch “American Idol” — and I know plenty of you do — you know Beasley’s story by now. She’s from Wickliffe and went to “Idol’s” Nashville, Tenn., auditions, where she sang an a cappella version of Lady Antebellum’s “American Honey” and got a unanimous vote to Hollywood. Within a few short hours people knew her name; a day or two later she had her own Facebook fan page.

I was working the night she was on “American Idol.” Within five minutes of her getting her three “yes” votes, I had already gotten several calls and texts. The next morning I watched her audition, and two minutes later one of my colleagues found me sitting at my desk sobbing.

The thing is, I am not sure where the crying started. Maybe it was when her two older, white parents, who adopted Adrienne when she was a baby, said she fits in their family “like a hand in a glove.” Or when she teared up saying how she couldn’t wait to repay them for all of the great things they had done for her.

I know I wasn’t crying when she sang. No, I was just shocked. I sat in silence. I watched as a petite, beautiful girl sang with a voice so powerful it made all the celebrity judges close their eyes and take it in.

It is actually pretty clear to me what is special about Adrienne Beasley. Of course her singing is part of it. But what really sets her apart is that I am really not sure if she knows just how amazing she is.

I have met her twice — once through a complete act of fate and the other after she had finished her set at Casa Mexicana. Each time she was full of thank you’s and smiles. Instead of shaking your hand, she hugs you. She’s even got a great sense of humor.

“My name is Adrienne,” she said to the crowd of about 50 at Casa Mexicana. “I am 22 years old, and I am single. So if any of you have any cute sons or nephews, or Major League baseball players in your family, let me know.”

It is almost like everyone in her life has told her she was a good singer and could go places, but she never really believed it until now. Every round of applause reaffirms what she is doing. Her confidence grows with every high note.

“I just see Adrienne as Adrienne,” Carolyn Simmons, Beasley’s adoptive mother, said on the “Idol” audition. “She’s just ours.”

Hey, Kentucky, you hear that? She’s just ours.

Adrienne Beasley was eliminated from ‘Idol’ on Wednesday night’s show.



Contact Corianne Egan, a Paducah Sun staff writer, at 270-575-8652.
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