| Angela Cheslock with her guitar (J.D. Pooley/Sentinel-Tribune) |
Angela Cheslock’s run on "American Idol" is over.
Still she’ll take away much from the experience.
Cheslock having made it through the daunting group round in Hollywood, was sent home, but with her dreams
intact.
"In this business you get told ‘no’ a lot before you get told ‘yes,’" she said.
Now she plans to resume her studies at Belmont University in Nashville this summer. She took this
semester off, not knowing what her "American Idol" experience would bring.
This was her third shot at "Idol" and this time "I got so much further," making it as
one of the more than160 contestants invited to Hollywood, and surviving the first round there, to make
it into the group singing round.
During that phase, Cheslock said, her group got a surprise. Her group of "young girls" decided
they wanted to sing their version of "Some Kind of Wonderful" to judge Steven Tyler. He made
the group an impromptu quintet. While Cheslock was singing her chorus, he added a yelp well known to
fans of his band Aerosmith.
That was "the crowning moment," of her "Idol" experience, the 19-year-old said.
Cheslock said she found after her audition in Milwaukee, taking the stage in Hollywood wasn’t so bad.
"I wasn’t as nervous," though she said it was a "nerve-wracking time" for many other
contestants.
Even though she’s made her exit she takes away the experience of the show. The show means she’s
"getting exposure."
"You never know who’s going to see you," she said. "You meet a lot of cool people."
A few of the contestants are from Nashville, and they left Hollywood with the intent of working together
in the future.
The daughter of Carol Cartwright and stepfather Wes Cartwright and Mark Cheslock and stepmother Brenda
Hill, she started singing along to tapes when she was a toddler. At 7 she sang "Who I Am"
during karaoke at BW3s in Bowling Green and discovered people liked her voice.
She also participated in Horizon Youth Theatre activities, and though she claims not to have much of a
knack for acting, she said, troupe helped her because she was "super shy."
While at Bowling Green High School the 2009 graduate was a cheerleader, sang in Concert Choir and
Madrigals, and was in the chorus for school musicals. She was tapped to sing the National Anthem at
basketball games.
When the madrigals did a pops concert she performed "Turn the Beat Around," and that proved a
major confidence boost.
She started her college studies at Bowling Green State University, majoring in vocal performance. She was
also a cheerleader at BGSU.
"I love strutting," Cheslock said. Cheering "helped with my performance skills."
But the music program at BGSU was focused on classical singing, while her ambitions were focused on
commercial singing, so she transferred to Belmont.
Not only does the university have a commercial music major, but it’s located in a major music center.
"I can still work on my music there."
