Tour de force

Big-voiced Lakisha Jones returns to Maryland, this time with other 'Idols' in tow

By Rashod D. Ollison | Sun Pop Music Critic

September 19, 2007

Lakisha Jones hasn't been feeling well lately.

"My allergies are kicking my butt," says the former American Idol finalist. But for the past month, the exhilarating experience of performing on the show's summer tour, which stops tonight at 1st Mariner Arena, has been the most effective medicine.

"Something happens when I'm on stage," says Jones, who was in Virginia earlier this week. "I just feel better singing."

The tour is still grueling, though. After hours of traveling, Jones' day usually starts about 5 in the morning with hotel check-in; at noon she checks out. By 3 p.m., there's a news conference followed by a sound check. She tries to squeeze in time to call her 4-year-old daughter Brionne, who lives with Jones' mother in Flint, Mich., while the singer is on the road. By 7:15 p.m., it's show time.

"It's like a variety show; we're doing pop covers," says Jones, who lived in Fort Meade before appearing on Idol. Winner Jordin Sparks channels performers ranging from Jewel to Ben E. King, while fauxhawked contestant Sanjaya Malakar pitches in with Michael Jackson material.

"On tour, we have a set list of what we do every night, so we're not doing theme nights like we did on the show," Jones says. "I know every day what I'm doing. I'm not worried about what the judges are going to say. It's very easy, less stressful."

While on the show, Jones garnered gushing praise from the judges before being voted off in May after a listless performance of "Run to Me" by the Bee Gees. Ever-acidic judge Simon Cowell even kissed her. Poised and at times regal, the Michigan native suffused the Idol musical template of surging pop balladry with a nuanced, gospel-shaded style. Jones personalized such well-worn tunes as Billie Holiday's "God Bless the Child" and Whitney Houston's "I Have Nothing."

On the tour, Jones belts "I Will Always Love You," the Dolly Parton song Houston turned into an international smash in 1992.

A career as a professional singer has long been a dream of Jones. She often shared her aspirations with staff members at the Millersville branch of Provident Bank, where Jones worked as a teller before appearing on Idol. When she decided to audition for the show in New York last fall, her co-workers were enthusiastically supportive, something Jones initially didn't expect.

"Had I been working anywhere else, I wouldn't be here now," says the 27-year-old performer. "What job do you know where you just start working there and you ask for time off to follow your dream and you get it?"

Patrick Owens, assistant branch manager at Provident Bank, says he didn't want to get in the way of her pursuit.

"Once she told me the circumstances, I couldn't say no, really," he says. "That wasn't an everyday situation, and Lakisha is really talented. She meshed well with the staff here. We thought it was exciting, and a great opportunity for her."

He was among the staff members who saw the Idol tour two weeks ago when it stopped at the Verizon Center in Washington.

"Lakisha got us seats real close," Owens says. "All of the performances were very refined. On stage, Lakisha got the chance to shine without the pressure of competing."

Jones sees Flint as her hometown and Houston as her next home base. But she says she found much-appreciated support here in Maryland.

"I had been struggling before, but I found stability there," she says.

After the American Idol tour ends Saturday in Manchester, N.H., Jones will dive into her music career. But the polite yet reticent singer is tight-lipped about her plans. "I can't go into any detail," she says in a terse, businesslike tone. "Broadway may be in the plan. It's going to be exciting."

Jones says she hasn't signed a recording deal, but negotiations are in the works. She's undecided about what musical style she wants to pursue.

"I like R&B and soul and inspirational music," she says. "But I don't know exactly what I want to do."

She is certain, though, that she will make her living singing from now on.

"This is for me," Jones says. "I don't think about where I fit in or if I fit in. My dream is to sing, and I'm living that now."