Being on “The Singing Bee” was on bucket list
Though Bayou Gauche native Abby Thibodaux is only 21 years old, she has already scratched off one of the biggest items on her bucket list – appearing on CMT’s “The Singing Bee.”
She also became $10,000 richer after knocking off five other contestants to claim the top prize.
While other singing shows like “American Idol” showcase a person’s vocal talents, “The Singing Bee” judges contestants on their ability to remember lyrics. Each contestant listens to professionals sing a country song and must pick up where the song leaves off by singing the lyrics that come next.
“I know I’m not a good singer so I wasn’t going there trying to be,” Thibodaux said. “I just kind of went with it and was going to bank on not being good but knowing the words.”
Points are given based on how many lyrics the contestants get correct and Thibodaux won the chance to sing for $10,000 after being the last remaining contestant. After nailing the correct lyrics to “Voices” by Chris Young, confetti blasted into the air as Thibodaux won the grand prize.
For Thibodaux, it marked the ending of a three-year journey to appear on the show. She first emailed “The Singing Bee” when she was 18 and told them how she grew up listening to country music. Producers enjoyed her email so much that they set up a Skype audition where she had to sing several songs and finish the lyrics.
“After auditioning they told me I was too young because I was 18 going on 19,” she said. “But a year later they called me back and told me that their producers really liked me and asked if I would Skype audition again. I was like, “Of course!’”
In February, producers flew Thibodaux out to Studio City, Calif. to film an episode of the show. Though she had only sung karaoke one time (after a Long Island Ice Tea), Thibodaux said she wasn’t nervous at all about singing in front of a national audience.
“I dance for the Voodoo, so once you dance in front of an arena full of people, not much really fazes you,” she said.
Though she wasn’t nervous, Thibodaux said the show was more difficult than she imagined.
“I watched it all the time and my roommate told me that I needed to do the show because she thought I would win. When you play at home, it’s a lot easier,” she said. “When the show first started I thought, ‘Can I actually win this thing?’”
Though she did just that, Thibodaux couldn’t share the news with anyone until after her show aired on Friday.
“You would think it’s really hard and at first I was like, “Oh my God, I’m gonna break,’” she said. “But it never sunk in… it still hasn’t sunk in so I just told everyone that I couldn’t tell them anything.
“We had a Facebook page with all the contestants who were on the show so we could talk about it amongst ourselves. That helped a lot.”
As for the money, Thibodaux, who attends LSU, plans to invest it and use it to mark off some other items on her bucket list.
“Singing Bee was on my list of things to do before I die along with donate $1,000 to charity and open a store for little girls,” she said. “I make corkboards and I paint them and do a lot of artsy stuff. Now that I have extra money, I can do stuff that I wanted to do that I wouldn’t have been able to do before.”
Appearing on “The Singing Bee” also appears to have impacted Thibodaux’s future as well. She is majoring in communications and now plans to return to St. Charles Parish with the hope of landing a job with Cox Communications.
“Once I went on the show I found out that I really like representing my hometown, so I’m going to try to get on with Cox in St. Charles Parish because I feel like we have so much talent, but everybody leaves,” she said. “It’s so good being at home and being able to represent where I live.”
In the meantime, Thibodaux will continue to attack the items on her bucket list, which includes things like riding in a hot air balloon and meeting country band Rascal Flatts.
“I don’t think anything is unattainable now,” she said.
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