La'Porsha talks life after 'Idol'
La’Porsha Renae and her sister popped into the Wal-Mart in McComb a couple of weeks ago. Their shopping list consisted of only three items — all for their mom: A juicer, a box of moon pies and some orange sherbet.
“I thought we would be in and out of there in less than 30 minutes,” La’Porsha said. “Well, it turned into three hours. Honestly, I keep forgetting that things aren’t like they used to be.”
She wasn’t complaining. The 22-year-old singer, who five weeks ago finished runner-up on the final show of the final season of “American Idol,” laughed as she shared the story.
“Every aisle we would go down, there would be a group of people looking and pointing and staring,” she said. “When I got up to the checkout area, a woman said to me, ‘Oh, I finally found you! Last I heard, you were on the cereal aisle.’ ”
And it began: Posing for photos, signing autographs and answering questions from hometown fans.
“People have been really nice,” La’Porsha said. “They’ll usually say, ‘I don’t mean to bother you, but would you sign this?’ And I’m like, ‘You’re not bothering me.’ Those are the same people who gave me so much support on the show. It’s just taking some getting used to, being recognized anytime I go somewhere.”
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She is in the process of preparing to record her debut album on Universal Motown Records.
“I would like to have it out this year, but the last thing I want to do is rush it and not be pleased with it,” she said. “I want this album to show who I am as an artist, and we weren’t able to do that a lot on the show.”
She is still waiting on the delivery of her new vehicle, a Ford Edge, a gift from one of the show’s primary sponsors. “So I’m still driving the car I had before the show — a 1997 Ford Aspire,” she said. “It’s almost an antique, but that’s my baby.”
During our 66-minute phone interview, La’Porsha seemed relaxed, rested and happy. She talked about a variety of things, including her "Idol" strategy, her friendship with winner Trent Harmon of Amory, her memorable performance of Mary J. Blige’s “No More Drama,” and the one song she wanted to perform most of all but ‘Idol’ producers couldn’t get it cleared.
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A Facebook post she and her mother came across helped La’Porsha remain calm while competing on live television each week.
“A lot of prayer and meditation helped,” she said. “But my mother would remind me before each show, ‘Remember your what and your why.’ There is this Christian comedian, Michael Jr., and he asked a man to sing ‘Amazing Grace.’ The man sang it in a classical way. Technically correct. Opera-like.
“But then Michael Jr. said, ‘OK, you sang it like you know what you’re doing. Now, sing it in a way that lets us know why you’re singing it.’ And that man took it to church. It’s on YouTube and worth watching. But that’s what my mom always said to me, ‘Remember your what and your why.’ ”
La’Porsha kept America — and the judges — guessing what she might sing next. Two surprises, “Come Together” by the Beatles and “Wanted Dead or Alive” by Bon Jovi, won the judges’ praises and America’s votes. She wanted to deliver more surprises but wasn’t allowed for various reasons.
“Some of the songs we couldn’t get cleared,” she said. “But it was also kind of like everyone had their own agenda of how they wanted the show to go.”
Among the songs on her wish list: The 1980s, bass-thumping hit “Everybody Wants to Rule the World” by Tears for Fears, “Thriller” by Michael Jackson and “Rhythm Nation” by Janet Jackson.
But the song she wanted to perform most of all? The Frank Sinatra version of the show tune “My Funny Valentine.”
“I love that song, and there are so many parts that would have allowed me to show different sides to my voice,” she said.
La’Porsha tried to strategize as much as one can inside the "Idol" bubble.
“If I saw that others were singing a lot of upbeat songs, I’d pick a slow one,” she said. “If they were doing ballads, I’d go with an upbeat song. Just something to be different.”
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La’Porsha’s undeniable voice is what first made her popular with viewers/voters. But as the show aired week after week, from January through April 7, the singer believes “the fact that I was comfortable in my own skin really hit home with people — at least, that’s what the fans have told me.”
“These days, your stars look, sound and act a certain way,” she said. “But I was super different. I showed that your hair can be kinky and beautiful, that you can wear a size 16 or 18 (dress) and still accomplish anything you want on stage, or anywhere else.
“I was different growing up and faced peer pressure and peer bullying because of it. Kids into the arts usually look a little different. They express themselves in artsy ways. But I had a lot of help learning to embrace that — first from my mom, and later from Coach (Angelia) Johnson, who taught me at McComb High School. And I think seeing me accept myself as I am, a lot of fans drew strength from that.”
WATKINS: Teacher, mentor helps La'Porsha cope with being 'different'
Those hoping to learn there really was a Trent-La’Porsha rivalry are going to be disappointed.
“I think just the fact that we thought alike created a certain bond,” she said. “I mean, there aren’t a lot of people who say, ‘I’m gonna leave Mississippi, head to California and become a star.’ We both went for it. Plus,we helped each other, too. Anytime during rehearsals that I heard something that didn’t sound right, I would go to him and say, ‘Hey, you need to work on this part or that part.’ And he would do the same for me.
“One time I was stupid sick. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to sing that week. Trent came to me and said, ‘I got you, La’Porsha. Whatever you need. If you want me to go to the grocery store and get you some garlic and tea and honey, I will.’ And I did the same for him."
WATKINS: 'Idol' winner Trent Harmon mourns loss of friend .
She wasn't surprised when Harmon was named the winner.
“I had braced myself, too, before the finale that Trent was going to win. That’s just how it’s gone on ‘Idol’ — the front-runner — and that’s what people were calling me — rarely won. So I was prepared for the moment, and I wanted to be as gracious and supportive as possible.”
La’Porsha “freaked” the moment she found out that Universal Motown Records was going to sign her.
“I was like, ‘Motown? That’s my home!’ ” she said, laughing. “When I was younger, I watched all those movies on The Jackson 5, The Temptations, Diana Ross. I just kept saying, ‘Yes! Yes! Yes!’ ”
She hoped she would be recording her album in the classic Motown studio, Hitsville USA, in Detroit.
“But Motown is now located in the Capitol Records building in Los Angeles,” she said. “Hey, that’s fine! No complaints.”
La’Porsha revealed on "Idol" that she had been in an abusive marriage, and she and her now 9-month-old daughter, Nayalee, took refuge in a shelter.
“People said I cried a lot on the show,” she said. “There was a reason for that. I ended the relationship on April 29 (2015), and was auditioning for the show in June,” she said. “I never had time to myself to heal. It was all too fresh, and I carried it everywhere I went on that show until … ”
Until, indeed.
On March 17, when the finalists were cut to the Top 5, La’Porsha delivered one of the most memorable performances in the show’s history.
She sang Mary J. Blige’s “No More Drama.” The lyrics spoke La’Porsha’s mind and heart: So tired, tired of this drama/I wanna be free/ … No more pain, no drama/No one’s gonna make me hurt again.”
In the intro package before the song, La’Porsha spoke about the abuse she endured. “I didn’t feel human anymore,” she said. “I didn’t feel like a woman, anymore. I felt dead.”
At the end of the performance. La’Porsha retreated to the back of the stage and began sobbing. She appeared close to collapsing when host Ryan Seacrest embraced her.
“I almost didn’t sing it,” she said. “I went to the producers after I’d chosen the song, and said, ‘I can’t. I can’t. Every time I start singing it, I break down.’ So what most people don’t know is, I never performed that song in rehearsal. They didn’t push me to rehearse it. They basically told me to save it for the show.
“It was a pivotal moment for me, and I’m not really talking about the show. When I sang that song, I did a 180-degree turnaround. It was a moment of embracing what I had gone through, accepting the fact that it did happen. After that, I was a different person. Before that, people on the show called me ‘mysterious.’ They would say, ‘There is more to you than you’re showing.’ And after that song, I was back to my old self — happy, bubbly and not a care in the world.
“On the stage that night, I declared myself a survivor, not a victim. And it was music that gave me that moment. Music has always, always been there for me.”
Contact Billy Watkins at (769) 257-3079 or bwatkins@jackson.gannett.com. Follow @BillyWatkins11 on Twitter.