Lil Rounds

Lil Rounds (born October 20, 1984) is an American singer from Memphis, Tennessee, who was the seventh place finalist on the eighth season of American Idol. Following the conclusion of Idol, Rounds was signed to a record deal with Bungalo Records.[1] Her debut album was to be released in 2010 but has been pushed back for a 2011 release. Rounds is now recording her album independently.

Lil Rounds
Background information
Born (1984-10-20) October 20, 1984
OriginMemphis, Tennessee, U.S.
GenresR&B, soul, gospel, pop, jazz
Occupation(s)Singer
InstrumentsVocals
Years active2009–present
LabelsBungalo Records/Universal (2009-2010)
Websitewww.MyLilRounds.com

Early life

Rounds has stated that she began to sing when she was just 3 years old.[2] She once lived in Memphis, Tennessee, along with her husband and three children. Rounds was a Customer service advisor. Before she entered the competition, a tornado ripped through Memphis on February 5, 2008, severely damaging her apartment complex and forcing her and her family to live in a motel.[3][4] Her grandfather once worked with blues legend B.B. King.[5] She said her dream mentor would be Stevie Wonder.[6]

American Idol

Overview

Rounds auditioned in Kansas City Missouri, where she received high praises from all judges saying that she was one of the best to audition, and that they thought she was a combination of Mary J. Blige and Fantasia. In Hollywood week round 1, she received a standing ovation from Kara DioGuardi and Paula Abdul after her rendition of "I Will Always Love You" by Dolly Parton. Her semifinal performance, "Be Without You", was highly praised by the judges allowing her to join the finals. After the top 36 performance, she was considered an early front runner in which Simon Cowell stated he would think Rounds would be in the top 3 along with Adam Lambert and Danny Gokey during his interview on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. She was eliminated on April 22 along with Anoop Desai, and returned for the Season 8 Finale on May 20, 2009 performing "Cue the Rain" with Queen Latifah.

Performances/Results
Week # Theme Song choice Original artist Order # Result
Audition N/A "All I Do" Stevie Wonder N/A Advanced
Hollywood First Solo "I Will Always Love You" Dolly Parton N/A Advanced
Hollywood Group Performance "Get Ready" The Temptations N/A Advanced
Hollywood Second Solo "If I Ain't Got You" Alicia Keys N/A Advanced
Top 36/Semi-Final 3 Billboard Hot 100 Hits to Date "Be Without You" Mary J. Blige 12 Advanced
Top 13 Michael Jackson "The Way You Make Me Feel" Michael Jackson 1 Safe
Top 11 Grand Ole Opry "Independence Day" Martina McBride 4 Safe
Top 10 Motown "(Love Is Like A) Heat Wave" Martha and the Vandellas 7 Safe
Top 9 Top Downloads "I Surrender" Celine Dion 7 Safe
Top 8 Year They Were Born "What's Love Got to Do with It" Tina Turner 3 Bottom 31
Top 7 Songs from the Cinema "The Rose" - The Rose Bette Midler 7 Bottom 22
Top 73 Disco "I'm Every Woman" Chaka Khan 1 Eliminated
  • ^1 Rounds was saved first from elimination.
  • ^2 When Ryan Seacrest announced the results in the particular night, Rounds was in the bottom three, but declared safe second, as Matt Giraud was saved from elimination by the judges.
  • ^3 Due to the judges using their one save to save Matt Giraud, the Top 7 remained intact for another week.

Post-Idol

After Lil's elimination, she made guest appearances on Live with Regis and Kelly, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Larry King Live, some local FOX television affiliates and numerous radio stations across the country. She performed on the Grand Finale of American Idol season 8, including a group medley of So What and a duet of Cue the Rain with original artist Queen Latifah. On the tour, Rounds sang "Be Without You" by Mary J. Blige, "No One" by Alicia Keys, and Beyoncé's "Single Ladies." Rounds has said in numerous interviews that during the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009 she will begin working on her album. She says her album will be contemporary R&B, soul, pop gospel and jazz.[7] She is currently in the studio working on her album, and will have a new website up soon.[8] She has stated that her album will be out in the spring of 2010.[9] It has been reported that she has signed with Bungalo Records.[1] On December 23, 2010, Rounds announced that she has left what she called a "bad record deal" and was now working on her album independently to be released in 2011. Her album with Bungalo Records is believed to have been scrapped.

Awards and nominations
YearPresenterAwardResult
2009 Teen Choice Awards Choice Summer Tour (shared with American Idol Top 10) Nominated

References
  1. "Lil Rounds Signed to Bungalow Records". mjsbigblog. 2009-11-30. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  2. acl3308 (2009-04-15). "Lil Rounds - Season 8 Contestants". American Idol. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  3. Archived June 5, 2009, at the Wayback Machine
  4. "The Top 13: Lil Rounds". blogs.augusta.com. 2009-03-08. Archived from the original on 2009-05-29. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  5. "Lil Rounds Is An 'American Idol' Mama". Etonline.com. 2009-03-06. Archived from the original on May 29, 2009. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  6. Byrne, Katie (2009-03-05). "'American Idol' Finalist Lil Rounds Insists 'Simon Has A Heart!' - News Story | Music, Celebrity, Artist News | MTV News". Mtv.com. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  7. ValerieCalhoun ErnieFreeman (2009-04-29). "Idol's Rounds Reflects on Experience". Myfoxmemphis.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-03. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  8. "Twitter / LIL ROUNDS: Hiii everybody!! Just want". Twitter.com. 2009-10-09. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
  9. "Twitter / LIL ROUNDS: Good Morning tweeters". Twitter.com. 2009-10-31. Retrieved 2010-01-10.
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