Mikalah Gordon
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Mikalah Analise Gordon (born January 14, 1988) is an American singer and eleventh-place finalist on the fourth season of American Idol. She was the second finalist eliminated on March 25, 2005.
[edit] Biography
Gordon was born in Las Vegas, Nevada, which is the same city she auditioned in. She currently lives in Los Angeles, California. Her father is a Jewish American and her mother is Italian American. Before Idol, she was with the Helen Joy Young Entertainers, sang at the White House, and worked at an oxygen bar.
Mikalah went to St. Francis de Sales Roman Catholic School from 3rd to 8th grade.
Gordon honed her craft during her early years singing by performing several times on stage with her father, jazz musician Rocky Gordon, who was a great mentor, teaching her standards as well as helping to fine tune her voice for all genres.
Gordon was eliminated during "Billboard #1 Hits" week, on the March 24 show. This was also the week when the show mixed up the voting numbers for three of the Top 11 contestants, Anwar Robinson, Jessica Sierra and Gordon herself. Her last song on the show was a rendition of "Love Will Lead You Back" by Taylor Dayne. She came back as a host for the pre-show on the series finale of American Idol Season 4 and also sang during the finale in the beginning medley of The Beach Boys songs and later sang in the program with another Idol finalist Lindsey Cardinale and singer Babyface.
Gordon is often compared to actress Fran Drescher. Paula Abdul made a remark that she would be a perfect candidate for playing Fran Drescher's niece because of her bubbly and loud personality. She has also said that she is a fan of singers Barbra Streisand and Bette Midler. When she was voted off, she appeared on the Tony Danza Show as well as many other TV shows.
Gordon landed a guest-starring role on Fran Drescher's new sitcom, Living with Fran. She played Fran's cousin Brianna, a Broadway singer.
On the February 24, 2006 episode of The Tyra Banks Show, Tyra Banks was so impressed by Mikalah on the Makeover surprises, that she hired her as a Tyra Show correspondent.
Mikalah is also the Co-Host of American Idol Extra. A behind the scenes look at American Idol after the taping each week.
Mikalah is currently recording an album that is still in the conceptual stages.
Mikalah recently affirmed that she is in fact a virgin, denying ugly rumors that had spread across the internet about her sexuality. She also released a letter to a blogger stating that much of her experience with American Idol had been under a cloud of severe depression. The letter is posted on her website. Mikalah has stated that she hopes to be an inspiration to young people who deal with depression and life issues.
On August 23, 2006, Mikalah was assaulted in Las Vegas during a robbery at gunpoint at 3:30 a.m near Nellis Boulevard and Washington Avenue. Her mother, Victoria Cavaricci, said "Police said she's so lucky she's alive."
[edit] List of American Idol performances
- February 22, 2005 (Top 24) - "Young Hearts Run Free" (Original Artist: Candi Staton)
- March 1, 2005 (Top 20) - "God Bless the Child"
- March 8, 2005 (Top 16) - "Somewhere"
- March 15, 2005 (Top 12; 1960s) - "Son of a Preacher Man" (1968) (Original Artist: Dusty Springfield) (Bottom 3)
- March 22, 2005 (Top 11; Billboard #1 Hits) - "Love Will Lead You Back" (1990) (Original Artist: Taylor Dayne) (Bottom 3; voted off)
