Holly Grove — a town about 80 miles east of Little Rock with less than 600 residents — is the kind of place with “no Walmarts, no eateries, no convenience stores, no dollar stores, no anything,” but it’s also home to Lucy Love, a 28-year-old single mother of two who will be competing in the Season 21 premiere of “American Idol” this Sunday, Feb. 19.
Ever since she was a toddler, Love has been “making songs out of anything,” she told us over the phone. By the time she was old enough to sing in the church choir, however, she was less enthusiastic. “I remember my grandmother taking me backstage and letting me know I didn’t have an option,” she said. “I hated [being in the choir] very much because I’d rather run the streets with my friends.”
The allure of the ding dong ditching and other shenanigans with the neighborhood kids vied for her attention throughout adolescence, but with the persistence of her pastor, she remained involved with the church and the choir, which she said kept her out of trouble. “I would literally hide from the church van…but they’d catch me.”
ABC/Eric McCandlessDespite her religious participation, Love struggled with academics. Due to focus issues, which led her to disrupt teachers and skip class, she dropped out of Clarendon High School in the 10th grade and moved to Memphis on her own. “You can imagine a 17-year-old on the streets of Memphis,” she said. “No father, no mother. I’m hopping around with friends, sleeping anywhere. Just living the life I wasn’t supposed to and I just got so tired.”
With the realization that she had mostly abandoned her love of singing for a lifestyle she wasn’t proud of, Love came back home, got her GED and enrolled in Arkansas Baptist College in Little Rock, where she eventually earned a bachelor’s degree in music.
Since then, making it in music has been her number one priority. Before appearing on “American Idol,” she unsuccessfully auditioned for the program four separate times. When asked what kept her motivated to keep trying, she was resolute: “Sometimes, you’ve got a purpose. You want to quit, but it doesn’t let you sleep or eat unless you work toward it.”
ABC/Eric McCandlessLove is also driven by a desire to be an inspiration for her children, who are two and three years old. “I could not work a 9 to 5 for the rest of my life,” she said. “I had to do something big enough to change the trajectory of my bloodline.”
Love — who describes her voice as sultry and versatile — writes songs of her own, but instead chose to perform covers for “American Idol” because she’s not yet comfortable accompanying herself, which is one of the show’s requirements. She’ll sing “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” by Marvin Gaye as well as one other song that she’s decided to keep under wraps until the big day. In a preview for the episode, judge Katy Perry says the following: “There’s this young woman, Lucy Love. She’s singing for her life.”
To support Love, tune into “American Idol,” which airs on ABC at 7 p.m. CST on Sunday. Additionally, you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook.
