Alexis Grace looks ahead at music career after 'Idol'

Photo by Karen Focht // Buy this photo

Alexis Grace has returned home to Memphis from Los Angeles and "American Idol". She is resting at her Cordova home and spending time reconnecting with friends and family. She and daughter Ryan Elizabeth sing the Barney song in her kitchen on Friday.

In a way, the Alexis Grace who left Memphis to compete on Fox's "American Idol" is not the same person who flew home to her family this week.

Not after having her voice scrutinized by armchair music critics across America. Not after the media merry-go-round, from Ellen DeGeneres and "Regis and Kelly" and the "Today" show, to all the local news stations.

Photo by Karen Focht

Alexis Grace has returned home to Memphis from Los Angeles and "American Idol". She is resting at her Cordova home and spending time reconnecting with friends and family. She and daughter Ryan Elizabeth sing the Barney song in her kitchen on Friday.

Photo by Karen Focht

Fans Nicholas Brooks (left) and Duran Rogers got a chance to meet Alexis Grace when she stopped at Central BBQ. She had been longing for some Memphis barbecue while away. Her mother Andrea Perry (center) and daughter Ryan Elizabeth were with her.

And certainly not after her exit from the show was such a surprise to many locals.

"I'm kind of glad I went out with a shocking ending than to get kicked off with people saying it was just her time to go," Grace said from her Cordova home. "I've been getting a lot of support."

On March 18, Grace, 21, was voted off the national singing contest. Her number: 11th place. One short of being invited on the "American Idol" tour.

Many viewers, commenting on blogs, thought that between her and the Texas oil worker Michael Sarver, who got the boot on Thursday, he should have been first. Not Alexis; the petite blonde with pink highlights who brought a huge helping of Memphis soul to the program.

Like fellow Memphis competitor Lil Rounds, she has a big voice and a dynamic delivery. She and Rounds bonded over their Memphis ties, she said, but it was Megan Joy Corkrey, also mom to a 2-year-old, with whom she connected.

Grace is home now, in her kitchen, barefoot in ripped jeans and snacking on Doritos. Her 2-year-old daughter, Ryan Elizabeth, is entertaining visitors.

"I love you, you love me, we're a happy fa-mi-ly...," goes the theme from "Barney and Friends," which the toddler crows proudly.

Ryan Elizabeth was the only one cheering at the watch party at Young Avenue Deli the night mom was told she was going home.

There is speculation, of course, as to what would have happened if Grace had stayed for one more week. Motown week. She says she might have chosen "Dancing in the Streets" or "Can't Get Next to You." Her voice is right for Motown.

Her downfall came with the Grand Ole Opry theme. She picked Dolly Parton's "Jolene."

"I really thought I could sing country music," she said. "The thing about the judging, is that they really think you should be able to sing every genre."

She's still Alexis Grace Middleton, who grew up in Midtown in a musical family, listening to Ann Peebles for whom her father played bass. But different.

"Idol" has rubbed off on her.

In New York City, actor Paul Rudd visited with her backstage at the "Ellen DeGeneres Show." "You were robbed!" he told her, she said. Reese Witherspoon also paid her respects.

On her flight home to Memphis, someone passed a note to her from the back of the plane. "You're going to go places. Love, Seat 12D," it said.

Shopping at Target on Thursday, Grace was stalked by a pack of girls who finally got the nerve to approach her.

"One of them was shaking as if I were some huge star," Grace said. "You just don't realize how big the show is when you're in the 'American Idol' bubble."

She's ready to turn 11th place into a singing career. Her dad, Randy Middleton, is already putting together the band.

"When I first started singing, we played in bars and everyone was drunk," she said. "Now everyone thinks I might be able to go a little farther than that."

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