Kimberley Locke Q&A

1.       What was your experience like being on American Idol?

WHIRLWIND THRILL!  It was everything that I had been praying for, waiting for, dreaming about, practicing for, and then some! It truly was a special experience and a special time in my life.  After that, I know that dreams do come true.  

 

Being on American Idol required me to take everything that I had learned up to that point and put it into action. Every day was something new, exciting, and scary. I was more prepared than I thought I was.  Imagine feeling all of your emotions all at once.  That's what it was like every week. 

 

2.      Who inspired you to become a singer?

I grew up in a small town on a farm and singing was my best friend.  I sang when I was playing, I sang along in my room.  I think that what inspired me about singing is that it was mine and that I could take it with me everywhere.  No one in my family was musical so they all just kind of let me be and do my thing.  

 

It wasn't until I was almost a teenager that I started singing publicly and people started to encourage me to continue singing.  I was part of a singing group called Shadz of U and we sang in church and that's when my confidence and inspiration began to grow.  The girls that I sang with inspired me to be the best that I could be and we all had a unique individual gift collectively our voices moved a lot of people to tears.   

 

 3.      What skills have you learned throughout your career that have helped you?

I guess the first thing I've learned is to get up and greet the day because no matter what happened yesterday, there's always a new opportunity headed my way.  You get a lot of no's in this industry and I quickly learned that 90% of those no's have nothing to do with my talent.  

 

One of the biggest things that I am learning is that the only thing I can control is how I react to people and situations.  The rest is out of my control. Attitude is everything.  Especially when you are coming up against all those no's.  I quickly learned that I didn't need 10 yeses all at once....1 yes at a time would do. They came and they are still coming. 

 

I'm learning that it's ok to rest.  I wish I had learned this one sooner, but I am thankful to know it now.  Burnout is real and recovering from it was a long road for me, but now I know balance, peace, and joy. I have learned to not try to force things.  Maybe that one comes with age. Everything that I have tried to force either didn't work out or it ended badly. I've learned to put things out to God and the Universe.  Nurture them while waiting for the pieces to come together. 

 

4.      What kind of singer would you classify yourself as?

What a great question.  I am a singer that loves to sing.  As you will hear in my show.  I don't care about the genre, because I can feel it, I can help you feel it too. 

 

5.      What has been your best performance in your career thus far?

Wow. Congratulations. No one has ever asked me this question before!  

I recently got to play Donna Summer in "The Donna Summer Musical" on Broadway and there was something special about playing her.  That role stretched me, challenged me, almost broke me, and changed me as an artist. Singing "Friends Unknown" each night was a transcendent moment that I will always remember.

I got the opportunity to sing with Kristen Chenoweth in NYC on Broadway for her show "For the Girls" and we sang "For Good" from Wicked and then I sang "This Is My Life" by Dame Shirley Bassey and received a standing ovation. That was a pretty epic night for me. Thank you, Kristen. Some of my best performances have been standing on the baseball field singing the National Anthem.  There is something about that song. 

 

6.      If you didn’t become a singer, what would your profession be?

The only 2 things I have ever wanted to be were a singer and a lawyer.  As fate would have it, at the age of 23 years old I found myself standing at the crossroad of both of those things. Just before auditioning for American Idol, I had been accepted into law school, and for me, American Idol was my last audition.  When I made it through to Hollywood week, I was shocked to learn that I was due to be in LA on the same day as the first day of Law School. 

I chose to go to Hollywood. 

 

7.      What’s your process for dealing with performance anxiety?

For me, it's all about breathing.  Everyone's body has a different reaction to stress and anxiety.  I have learned that I need to slow my breathing and I do that by taking deep breaths and pacing while counting my steps. That works for me. I have had the unfortunate experience of passing out during an audition. I don't want that to ever happen again. And no, I did not get that part. 

 

 

 

 

Bring in the holiday season with American Idol runner-up, Kimberley Locke on Friday, December 1 at 8pm and get your tickets TODAY!