From top 10 finishers to many musical hopefuls, New Jersey singers are no strangers to “American Idol” — and another one recently joined the ranks of Garden State stardom seekers.
Sixteen-year-old Camryn Champion, of Lumberton, started on a path to live up to her last name when she earned a golden ticket to Hollywood during the premiere of the show’s 20th season on Feb. 27.
The whole experience has been surreal, she said, even though it’s only just begun.
“It’s super cool because it’s (singing) what I want to do with my life,” she said. “So, it’s nice to get a good start.”
The Rancocas Valley Regional High School junior has been singing for as long as she can remember — perhaps even longer.
“Camryn would be asleep in the car and wake up singing along to the songs on the radio,” according to her website.
As the daughter of a military serviceman, she’s lived on both coasts of the United States, as well as in Okinawa, Japan. Moving around a lot provided her many with opportunities to perform, such as when, at age 9, she sang the national anthem at a monster truck show in California.
“It was just cool to even be able to do that for the crowd,” she recalled. “It was at a stadium. There was like 2,500 people, and it was the first time I sang in a big group of people.”
Living in lots of places also helped Camryn gain confidence for when she meets new people and faces new environments, she said.
“Everywhere I’ve moved, I’ve always found something I could do with music, which is cool,” she said. “It’s always different, but it has definitely shaped me into who I am.”
In 2018, at age 13, she beat 200 other artists and won the Brooklyn edition of "Coast 2 Coast Live,'' another singing competition. Winning "Coast 2 Coast'' put her on the radar of “American Idol” talent scouts, who asked her to audition in Nashville for this year’s season.
Regardless of when or where she performs, though, her mom is always there to cheer her on.
“She’s always been my No. 1 supporter,” Camryn said. “She’s very enthusiastic and supportive. It doesn’t seem forced; she wants me to enjoy what I’m doing.”
But, in terms of artists, both Camryn and her mom are “obsessed” with Adele.
“I really look up to her and idolize her,” she said. “I think it’s more special because me and my mom both enjoy her, so it’s something that we do together.”
Her connection to “American Idol” also links back to her family. Growing up, her grandma, a devoted “Idol” fan, would lovingly pester her to try out for the show.
“When you’re old enough, I want to see you audition,” she’d say, according to Camryn.
She said yes, of course — can you really say no to your grandma? — but she never thought she’d get the opportunity to audition, she said.
“My grandma was freaking out when she heard I was going to audition,” said Camryn. When she found out Camryn was moving on to the next round, she was once again overcome with joy.
Besides her family, Camryn draws support from her teachers and volleyball coaches.
“I enjoy coming to school because my teachers are just really big parts of my life,” she said. “Even outside of music, I feel like I can go to them for anything.”
One of her former English teachers, Steven Burns, commented on a YouTube clip of Camryn’s “Idol” audition, saying he was “so thrilled to see her tackle this challenge and go on this adventure.”
“I remember her telling me about how she loved to sing in her journal entries — and here she is today,” he wrote. “She's always been a champion!”
As for her coaches, they’re some of her “favorite people in the world, and they’ve just made me fall in love with being part of a team.”
It’s reassuring to know so many people want her to succeed, Camryn said. All of the feedback she’s gotten has been “super genuine” and there hasn’t been “any bad energy” so far — even from people she doesn’t know.
During her audition, Camryn performed Sam Smith’s 2014 hit “I’m Not the Only One” to praise and constructive criticism from judges Lionel Ritchie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. They encouraged her to dig deep, loosen up and stop being afraid to lean into the song.
“I don’t think ‘American Idol’ would be ‘American Idol’ if everybody came perfectly ready to sing,” said Bryan in a clip from the show.
Camryn didn’t expect to speak to the judges as much as she did. Even when the cameras weren’t rolling, she got to have “regular conversations” with them.
“I started writing (music) when I was like 11 or 12, so I got to talk to them about that a little bit too,” she said.
Off-camera, Luke told her not to be afraid of putting herself out there if music is what she wants to pursue. She said it was cool to get advice from someone who’s already made it in the music industry and knows what they’re talking about.
While she’s grateful for the success she’s already had, Camryn said she hopes to one day reach as big of an audience as possible.
“I think my biggest dream is to perform one of the songs that I wrote in a big stadium and have the crowd saying the words like they know all the words on their own,'' she said. "I just think that would be so cool.”
That’s how she’ll know she’s “actually made it.''
Go: "American Idol'' airs on Sundays at 8 p.m. EST on ABC. Visit abc.com/shows/american-idol
Aedy Miller covers education and the economy for the Burlington County Times, Courier-Post, and The Daily Journal. They are a multimedia journalist from Central Jersey and a recent graduate of the George Washington University.
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