‘American Idol’ journey comes to an end for Normal native Leah Marlene

Posted on May 23, 2022
Normal native Leah Marlene. (Facebook/Leah Marlene)

By Neil Doyle and HOI ABC

NORMAL – The ‘American Idol’ journey for Normal native Leah Marlene has come to a close, as she finished in third place on season 20 of the show.

The first round of performances consisted of songs from the songbook of Bruce Springsteen. Leah was the first performer, singing her version of ‘Cover Me’ from Springsteen’s 1984 album Born in the USA.

To open the second round, each of finalists’ trips to their respective hometowns was highlighted. Marlene once again was the first for this round, with a montage of her return to the Town of Normal last Tuesday. It opened with her visiting Parkside Junior High and Normal West High School. A visit to her family followed, during which she joined them for a dinner ahead of her performance in Uptown Normal later that evening.

The judges praised Marlene for both her performance and growth during her time on the show, during which she began to break down in tears.

Leah posted a video for her fans late last night on her Facebook page.

“Just a great big thank you. Every part of me feels like the biggest winner and the luckiest person in the world to have experienced everything that I experienced on the show. I wouldn’t have wanted anything to go any other way than it has. So thank you,” said Marlene.

Noah Thompson was the winner last night beating out HunterGirl for the top spot.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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