This came as no surprise.
Lakisha Jones and Blake Lewis were the final two contestants last night, awaiting their American Idol fate as Ryan Seacrest kept everyone in suspense for as long as possible.
In the end, the soulful singer was sent packing. We wish her the best of luck.
It's all about faith for Flint American Idol hopeful LaKisha Jones.
In an April 20 Entertaiment Weekly cover story on this year's show Jones spoke of the strength she draws from her creator.
"I just figure that God has not brought me this far to leave me," she told EW in three-paragraph profile its April 20 issue, out now.
"This whole year and a half, the stuff that I've been through, with being laid off my job, single mom - I don't think He brought me here to say, 'Here's a little taste of what it might be like, but I ain't going to let you go all the way."
The Flint Central grad gets to see her daughter, Brionne, 4, about once a month (Brionne's staying with Jones' mother, Beverly Jefferson, back in Flint), and tries to get a little distance from the other contestants.
"It's harder because it's a competition and I never looked at singing as a competition," she said, though she has participated in several of them, including Flint's now-defunct "Super-Show" (which she won in 1997) and Houston's "Gimme the Mike! (she was runner-up in 2005).
The magazine examines the current season (which it dubbed "the weirdest season ever"), rates the guest judges and offers short profiles of the Top 8 finalists, including Haley Scarnato, who was eliminated last week.
Jones and the six other remaining contestants go country on tonight's show with guest coach Martina McBride.
Jennifer Hudson received her very own day from the city of Chicago.
Maybe Lakisha Jones will soon enjoy the safe honor in Flint, Michigan.
For now, though, the American Idol contestant is probably thrilled enough that students at Eisenhower Elementary think so highly of her.
They think she's a terrific singer. They think she's beautiful.
And they identify with her: The American Idol finalist attended 4th-6th grades at their school.
Today, proclaimed "LaKisha Day" at Eisenhower, children in every classroom had a chance to express their feelings for Jones through poetry, letters, drawings, banners and posters. They're also rehearsing for a Jones-inspired fashion and talent show set for May 4.
"I love you because I think you love me," kindergartner Samantha Maienbrook, 5, said she planned to write in her letter to Jones.
The kindergarten class drew posters of Jones, such as the one by teacher Karen Collins below, that the school will send to Jones.
The kids' creations will be laminated and given to her mother, Northern Academy teacher Beverly Jefferson, who has promised to deliver them to LaKisha when Jefferson returns to Hollywood on April 8, Principal Patti Davis said.
"(Jefferson) told me, 'LaKisha will be so excited to see what those children did,' " Davis said.
A state representative is working to plan a celebration for LaKisha Jones, the Flint native who has been impressing viewers and judges of Fox television's American Idol.
No date or other details have been decided, but state Rep. Brenda Clack, D-Flint, hopes to hold the event at Perani Arena or The Whiting sometime in June, after the show's final episode of the season.
"LaKisha is the perfect example of what you can do when you follow the right path and follow your dreams," Clack said.
The party is being planned no matter how Jones finishes, The Flint Journal reported. Jones, 27-year-old single mother and bank employee, was told Thursday that she made it to the next stage of the show
Clack said she discussed the idea of a celebration recently with Gov. Jennifer Granholm, who also is a fan of Jones.
"We look forward to celebrating her success," Granholm spokeswoman Liz Boyd. "We want to be there."
Boyd said Granholm had a brief telephone conversation with Jones' mother, Beverly Jefferson of Flint, on Wednesday afternoon. Jefferson took Granholm's call in California, where family members including Jones' 4-year-old daughter, Brionne, had traveled to watch Wednesday night's show in person.
On Wednesday's show, Jones sang "I Have Nothing," written by Whitney Houston and released on her 1992 soundtrack album for the movie "The Bodyguard." The 12 remaining contestants next compete Tuesday.
"The governor and all of us are pulling for LaKisha and hope she ultimately will be the next American Idol," Boyd said.
SOURCE: The Flint Journal
Do we already have our next American Idol?
After all, Simon did basically tell the 23 other contestants to book their tickets home after Lakisha Jones closed last night's show - and he wasn't alone in his never-ending praise for this star.
Here are a few samples - taken directly from our comments section - of how you, the viewers at home, felt about this talented single mother after her rendition of a Jennifer Hudson song last night:
Honey, you just won American Idol with tonite's performance. You are ten leagues ahead of everyone else. The competition was won by you with Melinda Doolittle as runner up. Gentlemen.... pack it in and go home.
GREAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Wow. Amazing voice. She blew everyone away. And I sat in awe.
If by chance she does not win. I really feel someone will pick this POWERFULL singer up. Bet that.
I will be so happy if she wins. God bless her and her daughter with an easier life.
Tonight America and Canada and the world witnessed the birth of a star. Tonight on television, a cultural event. Lakisha Jones tonight is a star rising over America. It is a one-minute-and-thirty-second moment I will remember for years. And when her album comes out I hope "I Am Telling You..." is on it to keep that memory alive.
Bravo Lakisha! You are clearly this year's winner, but in any case win or lose, you've arrived and I don't think you'll be going back to the bank...at least not as a teller! :)
As a tear rolled down her face, Lakisha Jones received the news she so badly wanted to hear: She was an American Idol semifinalist.
The 27-year-old single mother and bank employee who hails from the blue-collar city of Flint long has dreamed of making it in the music business. Now, she is a step closer thanks to the hugely popular FOX TV talent show.
Jones, who bears both a vocal and physical resemblance to Aretha Franklin, also from the Detroit area, wowed the judges with a pair of the Queen of Soul's standards: "Think" and "Until You Come Back To Me." After her initial audition earned her a trip to the next round in Hollywood, Jones jumped into the embraces of her waiting family, snatched up her daughter and broke into tears.
Even ultra-mean British judge Simon Cowell smiled. "Love this girl," he said. "Love you, Lakisha. You're a good old-fashioned belter."
FOX declined a request to interview Jones. But in her appearances on the show and a video posted on the American Idol website, she appears humble before the judges and passionate about her family â especially her daughter, Brionne, who turns four today.
"I just believe in being real, being who you are and staying strong in your beliefs," Jones said on the video.
Jones says the performer she most admires is Whitney Houston, who has had her share of ups and downs. She also identifies with Fantasia Barrino, a single mother who won in the show's third season.
"It's hard juggling, trying to live your life dream of becoming a singer and also being a mom, a full-time mom," Jones said.
Jones' grandmother, 89-year-old Ruth Morris of Flint, recalled how Jones' passion for singing has grown since she got her start at age five at Flint's Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church.
"She is a person that loved people and she's always been great, wonderful," Morris, who was among the family members who traveled to the New York audition, said in a telephone interview. "She loves the Lord, she loves the singing."
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American Idol is not the most important thing in life for Lakisha Jones.
That would be her four-year old daughter, Brionne.
Nevertheless, this singer is close to leaving her bank job forever, now that she's been approved as one of the final 24 Idol hopefuls. And she resides atop many viewers' lists of early favorites.
It's a goal Jones has had for awhile. After all, the pop star Lakisha lists as her favorite? Kelly Clarkson.
Seen her wiping away tears after the judges relayed such good news last night, Lakisha could one day be following in Clarkson's winning footsteps. Millions will be watching to see if she does.
