LaKisha Ann Jones[1] (born January 13, 1980) placed fourth on the sixth sea… Read Full Bio ↴LaKisha Ann Jones[1] (born January 13, 1980) placed fourth on the sixth season of American Idol.

Jones was born at Hurley Medical Center in Flint, Michigan, to a teacher at the Flint Foundation Academy, and was raised by her grandmother, Ruth Jefferson Morris.

An only child, Jones is a Baptist who began singing at the Mount Zion Missionary Baptist Church at age five.[1] She was formally trained in classical music, although her favorite genre is gospel music. Jones always dreamed of becoming a singer. She was home schooled in Flint, then attended Flint Central High School (now Flint Central Commencement Academy), where, in one of her earliest performances, she appeared in a play called Lead Poisoning. While in high school, Jones performed with one of the groups in the choral department: the Madrigal Singers. Jones graduated in 1998 and attended the University of Michigan-Flint, majoring in music. During college, she performed in the play Godspell. Jones stated in her Idol interview that Flint, Michigan was her home for the first 20 years of her life, and although she had briefly moved to Fort Meade, Maryland, she is now a Flint, Michigan resident again.

After she graduated college, Jones moved to Houston, Texas, where she lived for six years. One of her earliest jobs in Houston was that of a secretary at Abundant Life Cathedral, a church with 7,000 parishioners. Prior to working at the church, Jones sang in the 70-member choir. The choir has produced well-known gospel singer Yolanda Adams, among others. In 2006 , Jones moved to Fort Meade, Maryland, in order to be closer to her cousins and other relatives. At that time, Jones obtained a job as a bank teller at Provident Bank in Millersville, Maryland, which she gave up when she moved to Hollywood to compete in American Idol.

Jones was the 1997 winner of Flint's now defunct supershow, and while living in Houston, she took second place in the 2005 Gimme the Mic competition.

American Idol

[edit] American Idol performances
Week # Song Choice Original Artist Result
Top 24 "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" Jennifer Holliday Safe
Top 20 "Midnight Train to Georgia" Gladys Knight & the Pips Safe
Top 16 "I Have Nothing" Whitney Houston Safe
Top 12 "God Bless the Child" Billie Holliday Safe
Top 11 "Diamonds Are Forever" Shirley Bassey Safe
Top 10 "Last Dance" Donna Summer Safe
Top 9 "Stormy Weather" First performed by Ethel Waters, popularized by Lena Horne Safe
Top 3
Top 8 "Conga" Gloria Estefan Safe
Top 7 "Jesus, Take the Wheel" Carrie Underwood Bottom 2
Top 6 "I Believe" Fantasia Barrino Safe
Non-Elimination Week
Top 6 "This Ain't a Love Song" Bon Jovi Safe
Top 4 "Stayin' Alive"
"Run to Me" Bee Gees
Bee Gees Eliminated

[edit] Audition

Jones auditioned singing "Think" by Aretha Franklin. The judges were impressed with her powerful vocal and performance, and Simon noted that he "loved this girl". LaKisha was shown emotionally embracing her daughter after being sent into the next round. In her farewell montage on the episode of her elimination it was shown that she also sang "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going" during her audition. She also performed Stevie Wonder's "Until You Come Back To Me" during one of the Hollywood audition rounds.

Semi-Finals

Top 24: And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going
Top 20: Midnight Train to Georgia
Top 16: I Have Nothing

Jones received positive reviews for all three of her performances. During her first performance of the smash Dreamgirls hit, Simon went as far to tell her, "I'm very tempted to tell 23 other people to book their plane tickets home."

On March 8, 2007, Jones became a finalist of the sixth season of American Idol.

Finals

* Week 1 - 13 March 2007 with special guest Diana Ross, Jones sang God Bless The Child and received rave reviews from the judges praising her vocal control throughout the performance.

* Week 2 - 20 March 2007 with special guest Lulu, Jones performed Diamonds Are Forever. She received her first mixed review from Randy and Simon. Simon noted that although she was good vocally, she sounded like she was 50 years older. Jones replied that if she sounded this good 50 years from now, she'd be all set.

* Week 3 - 27 March 2007 with special guest Gwen Stefani, Jones performed Last Dance by Donna Summer. She received positive reviews from the judges, who especially liked the fact that she sang an upbeat song compared to her usual ballads.

* Week 4 - 3 April 2007 with special guest Tony Bennett, Jones sang "Stormy Weather", and once again received positive reviews from all judges. She was one of the top 3 vote-getters, along with Melinda Doolittle and Jordin Sparks.

* Week 5 - 10 April 2007 with special guest Jennifer Lopez, Jones sang Conga by Gloria Estefan. Although she "wowed" Randy with her nice runs and by "coming out of her shy box," Paula and Simon felt it was a "safe" performance.

* Week 6 - 17 April 2007 with special guest Martina McBride, Jones sang Carrie Underwood's hit Jesus, Take the Wheel, for which she received generally negative reviews. Randy wanted her to make it more of her own, and Paula agreed. Simon felt that she didn't go with the song, since country music was more of an unfamiliar territory to her.

* Week 7 - 24 April 2007 during the Idol Gives Back special, Jones performed season 3 winner Fantasia Barrino's hit I Believe, but once again received mixed reviews. Randy noted that she sounded good vocally, and Paula preferred Barrino's version. When Simon began giving a somewhat negative critique, the audience interrupted him several times and made it difficult to finish.

* Week 8 - 1 May 2007 with special guest Bon Jovi, Jones performed This Ain't a Love Song by Bon Jovi. She received ultimate praise from the judges. Randy noted that "LaKisha was back." After the performance, when Simon even said he wanted to kiss her, Ryan Seacrest prompted him to do so, which he did. He then told LaKisha she had "nice lips" and that he "loved them."

* Week 9 - 8 May 2007 with special guest Barry Gibb, Jones performed Stayin' Alive and Run to Me. She received mixed reviews from the judges. During the first performance, the judges felt she did not need to embellish the songs with any runs and that she could have kept the melodies. Simon noted there was "no kiss tonight." Her second performance was better received. All three judges noted that it was good, however Simon still felt that she and Blake Lewis were vulnerable. She was eliminated on May 9, 2007.

Jones performed at the American Idol 2007 finale, along with the top 6 girls and Gladys Knight. During her elimination she said " I'm glad I auditioned at American Idol. I'm glad people believed in me enough to think that I could be here."
Post-American Idol

After being voted off on American Idol, Jones plans to get a quick start on her career. She is already scheduled to tour with the Top 10 Idols on the Idols tour. Jones says that she will also be focusing on two goals: a record contract and a new home, which is likely to be in Houston, Texas.[2]

Performed the Star-Spangled Banner at Comerica Park before the Detroit Tigers game on June 8, 2007 versus the New York Mets.

LaKisha also had two homecoming events. The first at the Abundant Life Cathedral Church in Houston, Texas (Houston was her home from 2000 to 2006) on May 30th, 2007. This date was also declared 'LaKisha Jones Day' in Houston by Mayor Bill White.

The other homecoming was at Atwood Stadium, Flint, Michigan, where LaKisha was born and raised and where most of her family still resides, on June 9, 2007. It was at this ceremony that she received a $6,000 check and six-month free lease on a new Buick LaCrosse. She also received a Flint watch, personalized tree ornaments from Bronner's and a card signed by 300 fans.

June 10, 2007 was declared to be 'LaKisha Jones Day' in Michigan by Gov. Jennifer Granholm at Michigan State Capitol, Lansing.

In an interview in Toronto, LaKisha revealed that there are deals on the table and expressed her wish to record either a Soul album or an Inspirational Gospel album or maybe both. She also said that she may do some Broadway.

Same Song
LaKisha Jones Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Verse One
Even though it's over
Even though you're gone
Still I think about you baby
And I hope and pray that maybe

Somethin will bring me to your mind
Even for three minutes time

Oh Baby
And when you least expect it
Our hearts will be connected
And we'll forget we said goodbye

Hook
Maybe we'll hear the
Same song at the same time
And you'll think about me
Maybe we'll hear those
Same words and those same lines
Just the way we used to be
Maybe that's gonna make you remember
And bring you back together
With me

Verse Two
When I think about us
Oh it makes me smile and I wonder
If you ever
Think of how good we were together
Somethin' will take you back in time
And the make the memories rewind
Oh baby
And then for just one moment
I'll be the one you holdin'
Even if only in your mind

Hook
Hook
Maybe we'll hear the
Same song at the same time
And you'll think about me
Maybe we'll hear those
Same words and those same lines
Just the way we used to be
Maybe that's gonna make you remember
And bring you back together
With me

Bridge
No No
Oooh
(My baby baby baby)
You never know
Someday when you listenin' to the radio
Maybe we could hear the

Hook
Maybe we'll hear the
Same song at the same time
And you'll think about me
Maybe we'll hear those
Same words and those same lines
Just the way we used to be
Maybe that's gonna make you remember

And bring you back together
With me

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to LaKisha Jones's song Same Song are a hopeful reflection on past love and the possibility of rekindling it. The verses convey the singer's persistent thoughts about the person she has lost, expressing a longing to be reunited with them. She hopes that even though it's over and he's gone, "somethin" will bring her to his mind, even for a short time. The singer wishes for a chance encounter where they could rekindle their romance, saying "our hearts will be connected and we'll forget we said goodbye."

In the chorus or hook, the singer imagines a scenario where she and her ex hear the same song at the same time, and it elicits memories of when they were together. She wishes for them to think of each other when they hear those same words and the same lines, and perhaps this can bring them back together again. The bridge further emphasizes this hopeful fantasy, expressing "you never know" when they might hear their song on the radio.

The lyrics of Same Song evoke the powerful emotions that arise when one longs to be reunited with a past love. The singer hopes for a serendipitous encounter that will reignite their interest in each other, evoking a sense of nostalgia for what they once had.

Line by Line Meaning

Even though it's over
Although our relationship has ended

Even though you're gone
Despite the fact that you are no longer with me

Still I think about you baby
I can't help but remember you

And I hope and pray that maybe
I wish and long for the possibility that

Somethin will bring me to your mind
Something that reminds me of you

Even for three minutes time
Even if only for a short while

And when you least expect it
When you're caught off guard

Our hearts will be connected
Our love will be rekindled

And we'll forget we said goodbye
We'll forget about the end of our relationship

Maybe that's gonna make you remember
Perhaps it will jog your memory

And bring you back together
And reunite us