“American Idol” Season 6 finalists Melinda Doolittle and Phil Stacey will perform tonight at Abba’s House on Hixson Pike in the Concert To Inspire.
The concert is a fundraiser for the MaryEllen Locher Foundation. The foundation provides scholarships to the children of cancer patients.
In a phone interview, Doolittle said she will sing selections from her CD, “Coming Back to You,” as well as viewers’ favorites from “American Idol,” such as “My Funny Valentine” and “I’m a Woman.”
During Season 6, Doolittle was constantly praised by judges Randy Jackson and Simon Cowell for her smooth interpretations of lyrics.
“I’m a huge storyteller first of all,” she said. “I would really think about picking songs that told a story I wanted to tell.
If You GoWhat: Concert To Inspire featuring Melinda Doolittle and Phil Stacey.When: 7:30 p.m. today.Where: Abba’s House, 5208 Hixson PikeAdmission: $20.Phone: 490-4555.REMEMBER WHENIn addition to tonight’s performers, Melinda Doolittle and Phil Stacey, Season 6 of “American Idol” also included the vocal skills of winner Jordin Sparks and runner-up Brandon Lewis, as well as the hair and vocal stylings of Sanjaya Malakar.
She said that while at Belmont University, one of her professors taught her to read through lyrics, then talk through the song as though she were telling that story to someone.
“Once I knew the phrasing that I would use to talk it to somebody, then it was easy to use that phrasing to sing the song,” she explained.
Joining Doolittle and Stacey will be Denver & the Mile High Orchestra along with Chattanoogan Angie McGregor.
“I went to college with those guys,” said Doolittle of DMHO. “They are instrumentalists I am so excited to be onstage with that I don’t know what to do. I have live horns! We’re just going to have fun.”
Trumpet player Denver Bierman attended Belmont to learn to write and arrange, and discovered big-band music was his passion. He formed a big band with some “band geek friends” and they named it Denver & the Mile High Orchestra to play on Denver’s name.
They have recorded six albums and performed at the Olympics.
The band leader quipped in a news release that “DMHO is inspiring because band geeks can be cool!”
“We don’t look like rock stars,” he continued. “We come to work hard and to do all we do with excellence.”