Ashthon Jones (born February 27, 1986) is an American
singer
Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...
from
Goodlettsville, Tennessee
Goodlettsville is a city in Davidson and Sumner counties, Tennessee. Goodlettsville was incorporated as a city in 1958 with a population of just over 3,000 residents; at the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 15,921 and in 2020 the ...
. Jones finished as the 13th place finalist on the
tenth season of ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
''.
Early life
Jones was born in 1986 to Michelle Anderson. She grew up in
Valdosta, Georgia
Valdosta is a city in and the county seat of Lowndes County, Georgia, United States. As of 2019, Valdosta had an estimated population of 56,457.
Valdosta is the principal city of the Valdosta Metropolitan Statistical Area, which in 2021 had ...
, before moving to
Goodlettsville, Tennessee
Goodlettsville is a city in Davidson and Sumner counties, Tennessee. Goodlettsville was incorporated as a city in 1958 with a population of just over 3,000 residents; at the 2010 census, the city had a total population of 15,921 and in 2020 the ...
, when she was 12. She attended W.G. Nunn Elementary School in Valdosta as a child. Her father died when she was 14, and she ran away from home at 15, but returned home after two and a half years. She worked as a retail manager in Nashville before appearing on ''American Idol''.
''American Idol''
Overview
Jones auditioned for the tenth season of ''American Idol'' in
Nashville, Tennessee
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...
. She was not one of the five female vote getters in the semi-final round to advance to the Top 13. She was one of the six selected to sing for a wild card and advanced to the Top 13. She is the third wild card finalist to be the eliminated first in the finals, with the previous ones being Leah LaBelle from
season 3
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In tempera ...
and
Jasmine Murray from
season 8
A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...
two years earlier. The judges unanimously agreed not to save her.
Performances/results
Post-''Idol''
She performed on ''
Live with Regis and Kelly
''Live with Kelly and Ryan'' (or simply ''Live'') is an American syndicated morning talk show hosted by Kelly Ripa and Ryan Seacrest. Executive produced by Michael Gelman, the ''Live with...'' show formula has aired under various hosts since ...
'' after her elimination. She and
Karen Rodriguez
The tenth season of ''American Idol'' premiered on January 19, 2011, and concluded on May 25, 2011, on the Fox television network. The show underwent a multitude of changes from the ninth season, including the return of Nigel Lythgoe as the execu ...
did not take part in the 2011 ''American Idols LIVE! Tour 2011'' Tour, but she did return for the American Idol finale and sang in the girls Beyoncé Medley with Haley Reinhart, Pia Toscano, Thia Megia, Naima Adedapo, and Karen Rodriguez, as well as singing "
Born This Way" with the entire Top 13. On March 3, 2012 she released her first single, "Lookout." She was featured with
Big K.R.I.T.
Justin Lewis Scott (born August 26, 1986), better known by his stage name Big K.R.I.T. (a backronym for King Remembered in Time), is an American rapper and record producer. Born in Meridian, Mississippi, he started his musical career in 2005. Af ...
on the song "
Mayday" from the album ''
Gravity
In physics, gravity () is a fundamental interaction which causes mutual attraction between all things with mass or energy. Gravity is, by far, the weakest of the four fundamental interactions, approximately 1038 times weaker than the stro ...
'' by
Lecrae
Lecrae Devaughn Moore (born October 9, 1979), mononymously known as Lecrae, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record and film producer, record executive, actor, and entrepreneur.
He is the president, co-owner and co-founder of the i ...
. She was also featured on the song "Good 2getha" from Big K.R.I.T.'s mixtape ''King Remembered in Time''.
Personal life
Jones lists her musical influences as
Mary Mary,
Whitney Houston
Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed " The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston i ...
,
Chaka Khan, and
The Clark Sisters
The Clark Sisters are an American gospel vocal group consisting of five sisters: Jacky Clark Chisholm (born 1948), Denise "Niecy" Clark-Bradford (born 1953), Elbernita "Twinkie" Clark (born 1954), Dorinda Clark-Cole (born 1957), and Karen Cla ...
.
References
External links
Ashthon Joneson ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...
''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Ashthon
1986 births
21st-century American singers
Living people
American Idol participants
Singers from Tennessee
20th-century African-American women singers
People from Goodlettsville, Tennessee
People from Valdosta, Georgia
21st-century American women singers
21st-century African-American women singers