A former Bowling Green High cheerleader who sang the National Anthem at high school football games has
taken the first step toward becoming the next American Idol.
Angela Cheslock, a 2009 graduate of BGHS, got the go ahead to compete in the Hollywood round of the Fox
talent show after auditioning in Milwaukee.
In a video on the show’s website, Cheslock said at first she was scared to try out for the show. "I
don’t like being rejected. " But "my family talked me into it," she said.
Cheslock said she started singing along with tapes when she was a toddler and then at 7 sang karaoke in a
local sports bar.
That’s when she realized she had a special voice.
Her cheerleading coach Sarah Wammes discovered that talent when Cheslock was a freshman. The team went
away to a cheerleading camp. On the first night they held a talent show, and Cheslock was eager to
participate.
She impressed both the coach and others.
Mike Vannett, athletic director and assistant principal at BGHS, said he suggested she sing the National
Anthem at home basketball games. She was more than a performer though, he added. She was also a very
good student and "just a tremendous kid."
On the video on the Idol website she talks about her "bubbly personality."
"I smile, like, 24/7," she said.
She says she was captivate by the show in its first season when Kelly Clarkson won. Cheslock remembered
thinking how exciting it would be to perform on that stage.
Cheslock said she was the next American Idol, because: "I love to sing, and I love to entertain
y’all."
The Fox show airs Wednesday and Thursday nights at 8.
