FAMOUS DAVIS: Aspiring singer Noah Davis of Royal was only 8 in 2009 when Kris Allen became the only Arkansan to win American Idol.
"I do remember Kris Allen," says the now 18-year-old Davis in a phone interview. "I was still pretty young ... but now I understand how cool it is for any state to have somebody represented on such a cool platform.
"And so I think it's awesome that I have an opportunity to do the same thing."
This opportunity will air at 7 p.m. today during the season premiere of ABC's American Idol reboot. We'll see Davis, a nursing major at Arkansas Tech University, audition before judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan. Many of us have already seen some of it; the exuberant Davis' mutual-admiration moment with Perry has been featured in a show commercial.
The son of a music minister, Davis got his start singing in church with his family. He has participated in talent shows and posted musical videos to social media, but, he says, "nothing professional ... just singing for pleasure."
As for getting on the show, he says, "I was scrolling through my Twitter, and I saw this ad that American Idol had promoted. ... I didn't think anything was going to come of it. But I walked across campus, sat down in a piano rehearsal room, recorded a video and submitted it that day." Not long after, producers invited him to try out.
"One day I was at college, and the next day I was on a plane to LA," he says. "I got back home, and I was like, 'Did I really just do that? Did I sing for Katy Perry?'"
He did. And we're optimistic he will do so again as Idol continues.
BRYAN TIE-IN: Speaking of American Idol, there's another reason to discuss judge Luke Bryan.
According to online ticket reseller VividSeasts.com, which recently released a map of "The Most Popular Artist in Every State" based on ticket data, the country singer is Arkansas' favorite performer.
To borrow a song title, Luke, we're "Drunk on You."
UNDERRATED STATED: Verizon Arena, the venue Bryan has played three times, is just one of the reasons North Little Rock was chosen for Thrillist's recent list of "The Most Underrated City in All 50 States."
"This town of 62,000 has no more ego than you'd expect from a place that sits in Little Rock's stubby shadow. And yet North Little Rock, aka Dogtown, is the go-to for some of the best of what the area has to offer," says the article, pointing out the arena, riverside cycling paths, Diamond Bear Brewing Co., "a super-chill arts and entertainment district in Argenta" and the Arkansas Travelers, "famous for their delightful 'horrible possum beast' mascot." Poor Otey.
We're not sure North Little Rock will flourish from such publicity, but it's possum-ble.
Email: jchristman@arkansasonline.com
SundayMonday on 03/11/2018