With a new album expected this year and currently starring in the Broadway dance production Burn the Floor, delivering mail once upon a time is in the rearview mirror as singer-actress Vonzell Solomon continues to work her way through the entertainment industry.
Solomon –– a former contestant on
two “American Idol” seasons and on the second season of “Making the Band” ––
who owns her own independent record label, Melodic Record, said the climb hasn’t
been easy.
Attending a performing arts school
helped shape and mold her into the vocalist she is today, she said.
“Every year I had a chorus class
and a vocal composition class, which taught me the difference between singing
[alone] and in a choral setting,” the Ft. Myers, Fla. native recently told the Defender while she
was in Chicago for Burn. “In the vocal tech classes I learned how to
become a solo singer and I was taught to focus on the fundamentals of singing
properly, which helped me so much.”
When the popular national singing
competitions opened their auditions, she jumped into the pool. She didn’t make
it past the first round the first time she auditioned for “Idol” and decided to
try for MTB. She sailed through the audition rounds in Miami, but fell short in
New York. Solomon then tried again during another season of “Idol” and was 2nd
runner up.
While she was eventually sent
home, she wasn’t discouraged but encouraged, thanks in large part to her father
and “Idol,” she said.
“When I got the chance to do
something big like Idol I jumped on the chance and it really helped my career
out a lot,” she said, “Ever since Idol, I’ve been traveling and I’m on my
fourth tour. Idol really got me going in my career,” said Solomon.
Her father, who is also her
manager, has been “my rock and my comforter,” she said.
Solomon’s advice to aspiring
singers: Put in the necessary work.
“A lot of
singers just want to go into private lessons or to a magnet school and then
come out singing like Beyonce, but they don’t know it takes a lot of work,” she
said.
Copyright 2011 Chicago Defender
