Editor’s note: This column originally appeared in the AJC on March 24, 2016.
For weeks now my Facebook feed has been full of ruminations about La’Porsha Renae, the “American Idol” contestant from my hometown, McComb, Miss.
“My girl does it again,” wrote my daughter Asha in a recent post.
“La’Porsha Renae has the voice of a goddess,” said another.
And this from a former colleague: “THIS GIRL!! End the contest now!”
After her win last night propelled her into the top four, La’Porsha will head home for a parade and a concert on Saturday.
The single mom and Trent Harmon of Amory, Miss., who are among the five finalists, are considered favorites this season and have been predicted to square off in the finale.
My Thursday nights have long been reserved for choir rehearsal, so I have only been able to watch videos of her performances posted to my wall. Last night was no different. Last night I attended Maundy Thursday service at my church.
But a little part of me was with La'Porsha, cheering for her, hoping she becomes America's final Idol. It's been heartwarming watching her perform, gathering fans and compliments like moss across a rock.
This morning, I learned that she is in the final four.
Throughout the season, we’ve been treated to snippets of La’Porsha’s troubled life. As the story goes, she survived an on-again, off-again abusive marriage that seemed to get worse with the arrival of her daughter, 7-month-old Nayale.
“I didn’t even feel human,” the abuse was so bad, she said during one of the shows.
If you found that hard to believe, you should’ve seen her performance last Thursday, when all that pain from all her married years poured forth in these lyrics:
“No more pain/No drama/No one’s gonna make me hurt again.”
As the crowd went wild with applause, La’Porsha bent over sobbing. Jennifer Lopez, one of the three judges, cried too.
I felt like crying yesterday when I read a post from fellow McComb native Sylvia Casin Brown, upset that the town’s newspaper publisher Jack Ryan had referred to Renae as a “girl” and questioned whether her hair was real.
“It is unfortunate that Jack Ryan would use his platform to make condescending, disparaging remarks about LaPorsha Renae.
“It was demeaning for him to refer to her as a ‘girl.’ She is not a girl, but rather an adult who was married and is the mother of a young daughter. Whether her hair is real or fake has no bearing on her vocal abilities. What is important is this, LaPorsha Renae’s vocal abilities and talent have brought recognition to the small town of McComb.”
Thankfully, Ryan doesn’t disagree, and after reading his editorial and speaking to him, I was a little less inclined to cry.
Ryan told me he did wonder whether Renae’s hair was real or fake, but so did my husband. Actually Jimmy is always asking me if someone’s hair is real. He asks me so often my refrain has become “I haven’t had the chance to run my fingers through it as yet.”
Here’s where Ryan might have gone too far. He compares La’Porsha to Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, and says she isn’t the only entertainer who recognizes the value of image.
“I look at Trump as more of an entertainer than a politician or a businessman,” Ryan wrote. “He sells himself as a brand, which is the same thing as an image.
“He’s like a two-liter soft drink: Tasty with a lot of calories, but nothing nutritional inside. This doesn’t prevent him from holding rallies that attract thousands of adoring fans. Kind of like the concert La’Porsha Renae is supposed to give next weekend.”
On the other question, Ryan said his comments were hardly disparaging.
“I don’t make a living here being condescending and disparaging to people from McComb who have found success,” he said. “That is not what this newspaper does.”
What Ryan actually wrote was this: “There’s plenty of excitement around here about the local girl who’s made really, really good.”
Her standing he said, earned McComb a visit, a parade and concert from the 2011 McComb High School graduate.
Brown and other residents, though, are upset the parade is an “invitation only” event. That raised both my eyebrows, too, so I asked Ryan if he could provide some clarification.
Of course, anyone can come, he said.
What apparently has Brown and the others upset is “who gets to ride in it,” Ryan said.
That would include members of La’Porsha’s immediate family, the McComb High School band and cheerleaders and a few cheerleading squads from neighboring schools.
“It’s not like a Christmas parade,” he said. “My guess is it will be over in 15 minutes.”
Let’s hope it’s not over for La’Porsha Renae. Let’s hope, this being the Easter season, that even in Hollywood, “Alleluia!” won’t be a song to self but a shout of gratitude and, in the end, it will be La’Porsha Renae and her fans doing the shouting.
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