NEWSMAKERS | Idol finalist Suddeth is ‘country girl’ at heart


May 22, 2011 at 12:00a.m.

NEWSMAKERS

Idol finalist Suddeth is ‘country girl’ at heart

ATLANTA

Every Wednesday night since she was 12, Lauren Alaina Suddeth belted out a two-hour set at a restaurant just across the Tennessee border from her hometown of Rossville, Ga.

She’d roll through “Midnight Train to Georgia” and “Big Girls Don’t Cry,” but her big number was Miranda Lambert’s “Famous in a Small Town.” That song doesn’t describe the 16-year-old “American Idol” finalist anymore after she charmed viewers with her bright smile and powerful voice.

Now Suddeth faces 17-year-old Scotty McCreery of Garner, N.C., on Tuesday night for a final performance. A winner will be crowned Wednesday.

The bubbly Suddeth, whose nickname is “LaLa,” has breezed through round after round of “Idol” with her signature country sound. Her success on the top-rated show is no surprise to the high school sophomore’s supporters back home.

“I didn’t know when, I didn’t know how, but I knew it was going to happen one way or another,” said Jennifer Lawhorn, owner of Magoo’s Restaurant in East Ridge, Tenn., where Suddeth performed weekly.

Friends describe her as a “country girl” who loves cheerleading, volunteering with special-needs children and singing any chance she gets. The straight-A student loves the “Harry Potter” series and lists “Idol” winner Carrie Underwood as one of her biggest musical influences.

Janet Jackson in Austria for AIDS event

VIENNA

Janet Jackson says every little bit helps when it comes to fighting AIDS.

The singer says she’s lost friends to the disease and that raising awareness about it is “close to my heart.”

She spoke to reporters Saturday just hours before she joins former U.S. President Bill Clinton, actress Brooke Shields and other celebrities at Vienna’s annual Life Ball, a huge party aimed at raising money for people with HIV and AIDS.

The event in and around city hall attracts crowds of revelers in risqu attire that sometimes consists only of G-strings and glitter.

Associated Press