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<\/p>\n‘I want to make Wisconsin proud’: Badger HS grad competes for your vote on American Idol<\/p>\n
Genevieve Heyward advanced to the competition’s Top 20.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAHEAD OF US, JUST MINUTES AWAY. >> HOPE YOU DON\u2019T MIND. I HOPE YOU DON\u2019T MIND THAT I PUT DOWN IN WORD. >> SAYING IT. WOW. >> OH WOW. A WISCONSIN WOMAN IS IN THE TOP 20 ON AMERICAN IDOL. BADGER HIGH SCHOOL ALUM GENEVIEVE HAYWARD GAVE AN EMOTIONAL PERFORMANCE OF ELTON JOHN\u2019S YOUR SONG IN THE OHANA ROUND LAST MONDAY. NOW SHE\u2019S COMPETING FOR YOUR VOTES AND WE ARE SO THRILLED TO HAVE HER BACK. GENEVIEVE, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR SPENDING SOME TIME. HOW ARE YOU? >> I\u2019M DOING SO GOOD. THANKS FOR HAVING ME BACK. >> ABSOLUTELY. OKAY, SO LET\u2019S TALK ABOUT YOUR TRAJECTORY THUS FAR. RIGHT. HOW HAVE YOU BEEN? HAVE YOU BEEN CHECKING IN WITH FAMILY? HOW HAS HOW HAVE YOUR PRACTICES AND EVERYTHING BEEN GOING? >> YEAH, THINGS ARE IN FULL SWING RIGHT NOW. A LITTLE STRESSED OUT, BUT IT\u2019S I\u2019M STRESSED OUT ABOUT SOMETHING I\u2019VE WANTED TO DO FOREVER. SO IT\u2019S LIKE GOOD STRESS. FAMILY\u2019S EXCITED FRIENDS ARE EXCITED. IT SEEMS LIKE THE WHOLE STATE OF WISCONSIN HAS MY BACK. BUT YEAH, I\u2019M FEELING PRETTY GOOD. I\u2019M FEELING A LITTLE NERVOUS. I\u2019M FEELING THE HEAT A LITTLE BIT, BUT NOT OVERALL, I FEEL GOOD. >> NO. AND OF COURSE, THE WHOLE STATE OF WISCONSIN HAS YOUR BACK. THAT\u2019S WHAT WE\u2019VE BEEN HEARING HERE IN THE STUDIO. NOW. YOU\u2019VE TALKED A LOT ABOUT EMOTIONS, RIGHT. AND, YOU KNOW, THERE WAS A PART OF AN INTERVIEW THAT YOU MENTIONED. CONTESTANTS NEED TO JUST ACCEPT THAT THEY\u2019RE NERVOUS BECAUSE EVERYBODY\u2019S LIKE, OH, I\u2019M FINE. IT\u2019S NOT A BIG DEAL. WHEN YOU SANG THAT SONG IN THE OHANA ROUND, YOU DEDICATED IT TO YOUR FATHER. NOW, DURING THOSE MOMENTS, HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR COMPOSURE? HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR EMOTIONS IN CHECK TO BE ABLE TO GIVE THE BEST PERFORMANCE YOU CAN? >> YEAH, THAT WAS A REALLY TRICKY ONE. THAT WAS REALLY DIFFICULT FOR ME TO KIND OF KEEP IT TOGETHER. AND THEY DIDN\u2019T ACTUALLY SHOW IT, BUT I DID CRY AFTERWARDS. I WAS LIKE, OH MY GOD, I LOVE MY MOM AND DAD. BUT IT\u2019S ALL SO OVERWHELMING. I HONESTLY GIVE A LOT OF CREDIT TO THE HEAT IN HAWAII BECAUSE IT WAS SO HOT. AND I\u2019M NOT LIKE A TROPICAL BEACH HEAT GIRL. SO BY THE TIME I GOT UP TO PERFORM, I ACTUALLY WAS FEELING KIND OF LIKE EXHAUSTED JUST FROM SITTING IN THE SUN. AND THEN OBVIOUSLY I LIKE SNAPPED OUT OF IT ONCE I GOT TO THE PIANO, BUT I DON\u2019T KNOW, I LITERALLY THINK AS LONG AS YOU CAN JUST ADMIT IT TO YOURSELF, LIKE IF I CAN SAY LIKE, I\u2019M FREAKING OUT RIGHT NOW AND YOU COULD SAY IT OUT LOUD, IT KIND OF HELPS ME WORK THROUGH IT. BUT I DON\u2019T KNOW, ONCE, ONCE I START SINGING, I\u2019M ALWAYS LIKE, I GOT IT, I GOT THIS. ABSOLUTELY. >> I WANTED TO TALK ABOUT SOMETHING HERE. YOUR VOCAL COACH, DIDI, SHE WAS A TOP TEN FINALIST BACK IN 2010. AND SHE SHARED, HAS SHE SHARED SOME TIPS, SOME TRICKS THAT YOU ARE USING NOW DURING YOUR COMPETITION? >> OH MAN. YEAH. DIDI IS I CALL HER MY LIFE COACH MORE THAN MY VOCAL COACH AT THIS POINT. I MEAN, AND NOT EVEN JUST I MEAN, SHE MENTIONED IDOL TO ME IN THE IN THE PAST JUST BECAUSE SHE\u2019S ALSO DONE IT BEFORE AND SHE\u2019S LIKE, YOU SHOULD REALLY TRY IT. IT\u2019S GREAT. BUT OVERALL, SHE\u2019S JUST BEEN HELPING ME. I MEAN, SHE\u2019S LIKE TRANSFORMED HOW I SING BECAUSE SINGING IS JUST YOUR VOICE. I MEAN, IT REALLY IS A FULL BODY THING. SO YEAH, SHE\u2019S BEEN HELPING ME, ESPECIALLY DEALING WITH THE PRESSURE OF BEING ON LIVE TELEVISION AND BEING ON TV AND HAVING MILLIONS OF PEOPLE JUDGE YOU. SO ABSOLUTELY. >> IT\u2019S A WHOLE DIFFERENT BEAST WHEN YOU\u2019RE A PART OF A COMPETITION. NOW, THE NEXT PERFORMANCE WE WILL GET TO SEE IS MONDAY. WE\u2019RE GOING TO HAVE THE CONTESTANTS SPLIT UP, AND THEN AMERICA. THAT\u2019S WHEN AMERICA GETS TO VOTE FOR YOU. SO WITHIN THESE LAST COUPLE OF SECONDS WE HAVE FOR YOU, WHY SHOULD AMERICA VOTE FOR YOU? >> MAN, I THINK AMERICA SHOULD VOTE FOR ME BECAUSE I LOVE SINGING. I LIKE MAKING PEOPLE SMILE WITH MY VOICE. AND I WANT TO MAKE WISCONSIN PROUD. SO LET\u2019S BRING HOME AN IDOL WINNER TO WISCONSIN. >> THERE YOU GO. AND YOUR CARRIE UNDERWOOD\u2019S PICKLE GIRL. SO I MEAN, COME ON. >> I MEAN, COME ON, COME ON. >> I WANT A NICKNAME FROM CARRIE UNDERWOOD. ANYWAY, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING US. BEST OF LUCK. CAN\u2019T WAIT TO SEE THE PERFORMANCE ON MONDAY. >> THANK YOU GUYS. YEP. SEE YOU MONDAY. >> ABSOLUTELY. YOU CA\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
‘I want to make Wisconsin proud’: Badger HS grad competes for your vote on American Idol<\/p>\n
Genevieve Heyward advanced to the competition’s Top 20.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 7:17 PM CDT Mar 13, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n