i think sometimes we forget these are just regular ole folks with everyday problems like us...

arts/life
Lakisha opens up about pre-'Idol' hardships
By Mary Carole McCauley
Sun reporter
Originally published May 15, 2007
When Lakisha Jones was competing on American Idol, she presented a demeanor that was characterized at times as reserved, impassive, even stoic.

But during a brief telephone interview yesterday, Jones offered tantalizing glimpses into what her life was like before she started competing in the blockbuster national talent show last winter. The singer with the rich voice -- whose complexity and soaring tones evoke a pipe organ -- was eliminated last week from the competition, placing fourth overall.





"Everybody has a story," Jones has said, "but nobody knows mine."

Jones, 27, spent the six months before her departure for Hollywood working as a teller at a Millersville bank.

It wasn't easy supporting herself and her now-4-year-old daughter, Brionne, on a teller's salary. But she says her difficulties preceded her move to Maryland last July, after spending the previous six years in Houston.

"I had problems long before then," she says. "I remember coming home and having my lights cut off, an eviction notice. I remember not having enough money to pay rent and day care at the same time."

At times, she says, she was paid no more than $11 or $13 an hour, before taxes -- or roughly $440 to $520 a week.

Before giving birth to Brionne, Jones worked as a secretary for a Houston church. But, by the time her daughter was born and the new mother was ready to return to work, her former position had been filled.

She tried to make ends meet by working a collection of odd jobs: as a telemarketer, for a collections agency, as a clerk. Her relationship with Brionne's father ended before the little girl was 3 years old, she says.

Jones prefers not to talk about Brionne's father, saying simply that he meets his responsibilities toward the child.

"He helps us out," she says. "He does whatever he has to for his daughter."

Jones' questioner tried to probe, gently, for more details: Jones' personal life is her business, but it's clear that finances have been tight for her. What type of job does her ex hold?

That's when a representative for Fox television put an end to the personal inquiries.

"I'm uncomfortable with this line of questioning," the Fox rep said. "We need to move on and talk more about American Idol."

Jones has been upfront about her hope that the singing show seen weekly by upward of 30 million people will provide the kind of exposure that will translate into a musical career for her, and an improved standard of living for herself and Brionne.

"I auditioned for American Idol for one reason and one reason only, and that was to have a better life," she says. "Hopefully, I have achieved that."

Jones plans to use the paychecks she received during the competition, and from a summer-long tour, to put a down payment on a house, possibly in Texas.

She says that she has been told that "there are offers on the table" but doesn't yet know the details.

"I'd like to do musicals on Broadway," she says. "I'd like to put out an album, something sassy and soulful, with a little inspiration."

Her next project, perhaps, will showcase her personality: reticent, but with an offbeat sense of humor, thoughtful and motherly, perhaps a bit insecure, but with a deep and sustaining religious faith.

"I do believe in myself," Jones says, "and I do believe that no matter what happens, God has a plan for me, and that I will be successful."

Shoot, her salary is bigger than mine after taxes. I guess I wouldn't be able to afford rent and daycare either.

It sounds like she has been through a lot, and I wish her well.