According to our informal little poll (be sure to vote!), Ann Marie Boskovich seems to be the early favorite from the Jacksonville night. So let’s find out a little more about her.
A native of the Ventura, Calif., area, Ann Marie made her public performance debut at age 5, singing Over the Rainbow at her great-grandmother’s funeral. At age 13, she appeared on the soundtrack for Disney’s direct-to-video feature The Little Mermaid II: Return to the Sea, singing Part of Your World over the closing credits. She also sang God Bless America at the 2003 NBA All-Star Game.
The debutante went to high school at Oaks Christian High School in Westlake Village, Calif., (trivia note: Joe Montana’s son now plays football for the school.) and appeared in school theatrical productions like West Side Story.
Ann Marie moved to Nashville not long after graduating from the school’s first four-year class in 2004. She sang Lee Ann Womack’s I Hope You Dance at the ceremony.
Ann Marie lists a wide range of influences on her MySpace page, among them Celine Dion, Shania Twain, Eva Cassidy, Elvis Presley, Dolly Parton, Patsy Cline, Heart, Aerosmith, The Beatles, AC/DC and Andrew Lloyd Webber. She also admires Oprah Winfrey and Mother Teresa. If you want to hear more music from Ann Marie, you can download classical pianist Eric Genuis’ The Winds Have Changed album — she’s the featured vocalist.
Jacksonville’s American Idol auditions were a lot like this season’s Jacksonville Jaguars. They never lived up to their potential. Despite some serious vocal talent — 16-year-old Jasmine Murray and Nashvillian Ann Marie Boskovich spring to mind — only San Francisco compares so far for general lack of impressiveness. The judges avoided another Josiah Leming-like Hollywood meltdown by sending sensitive singer Michael Perrelli home early — he couldn’t have cried faster if they’d smacked him in the face with a Vidalia. T.K. Hash, who went to Hollywood last season, gets another shot, and we also saw Joshua Ulloa, Sharon Wilbur and Julissa Veloz get their golden tickets. But the night’s most memorable performance came from college student George Ramirez, who sang Katrina & the Waves’ Walking on Sunshine with what might best be described as an “anti-melody.”
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