La’Porsha Renae is a 22-year-old mom from McComb, Mississippi. She works for a living as a call representative but her passion is music. On the fifteenth and finale season of American Idol, Renae auditions in front of celeb judges Keith Urban, Harry Connick Jr, and Jennifer Lopez, who holds Renae’s baby girl while Renae sings “Creep” by Radiohead.
It might not seem fair to some that La’Porsha Renae brings her adorable little girl to the audition. Seeing the baby smile while watching her mama hit all the high and low notes will certainly melt the hearts of viewers at home. Renae also brings her creativity to the audition. There’s just enough ambiguity in her phrasing of the lyric “I’m a weirdo” for the judges, one of whom remember is holding her baby, to hear: “I’m a widow.” Lopez and Urban both audibly react to the phrasing. It’s certainly a big moment and brings a dramatic layer to the performance. It may be that she sings “weirdo” — but Renae certainly works the emotional echoes in her art. American Idol airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8pm on FOX.
