Rochester’s Jillian Jensen is moving on to Hollywood.
The twenty-one year old singer/songwriter, who’s also been featured on the TV show “X-Factor,” auditioned before J-Lo, Harry Connick Jr., and Keith Urban on last week’s premier of this season’s American Idol, and received a “golden ticket,” or her pass to Los Angeles, California, where she’ll compete with others for a shot at the title.
“Auditioning in front of the three judges was nerve-wracking, but not because of the music aspect,” said Jensen in an interview for the show. “For some reason when you get into those situations, you’re not thinking about what you’re going to say, but you want to get things out. And you’re like; ‘Did I get what I want to say out?’ It was more like nerves in that aspect, but it was a great overall experience.”
As for the audition itself, Jensen performed Gavin DeGraw’s “Not Over You,” singing and playing the acoustic guitar, which is where she says she feels most like herself.
“When it comes to music, the moment I have a guitar in my hand or the moment I’ve been on stage or there’s music playing, that’s when I feel complete—that’s when I feel myself.”
During the audition, Jensen, who named Johnny Cash as a major influence, was almost fooled Connick, who at first said he was saying “no” to sending Jensen on, but eventually, he told her “he freaking loved” her performance and awarded her with the ticket.
Jensen, who prior to “Idol” has been playing shows locally as of late, said that she’d always told her mom she’d one day be on the show.
“I auditioned for American Idol because I always told my mom I would be the next American idol, and what a better start than to get a golden ticket?”
Jensen, who wowed America with a tear-jerking appearance on “X-Factor,” said that she likes to perform songs that she feels emotionally invested in.
“What makes me unique as an artist I think is the fact that everything I do musically…I won’t sing a song unless I have a personal attachment to it. The most important thing to me—if I’m performing it—I want to convey that emotion or that feeling that way the other people watching me do it get it, or feel it too.”
When asked why she deserves to be an American Idol, Jensen said: “I’ve really worked hard for it—talent-wise, I know that there’s something there—if anything I think that it’s the mixture of my talent, personality and my drive and motivation—(that’s why) I deserve it.”
After her audition, Jensen, a graduate of Bishop Stang, asked Connick for a hug, saying that Will and Grace, which he acted on, was a personal favorite.
“’Will and Grace’ was one of my favorite shows ever,” she said.
By Nick Walecka
