Who is Heather Russell? Meet 'American Idol' contestant who was signed by Simon Cowell when she was just 10
Heather Russell will be seen on Sunday, February 28, night's episode of 'American Idol'. As seen in the preview package that aired at the end of last week's episode, the 20-year-old managed to wow judges with her vocal abilities and even though the trailer didn't air this part, Heather walked out of that audition room with a golden ticket.
Heather is no ordinary singer. She has been present on the music circuit for quite some time now and the young singer-songwriter instantly became famous when she was around the age of 10. To know more about her before the 'Idol' audition, continue reading below.
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Heather was signed by Simon Cowell at age 10
In 2011, Heather Russell was a 10-year-old growing up in Toronto, Canada, and was a YouTube singing sensation. Simon Cowell was pointed in her direction by former 'Canadian Idol' judge Zack Werner. He asked Cowell to check out a particular video that was posted on her YouTube channel by her parents James Russell and Monica Cidade and Cowell offered her a contract shortly.
Heather's videos were quite famous back then including her original song 'Every Step of the Way' which also featured her father James on the guitar and it is viewed more than a million times on YouTube. It was shared by Rob Fusari (the producer who launched Lady Gaga)who was acting as her mentor back then.
Heather has worked with Grammy-winning writers and producers
Some of the few big names in the industry that Heather has had the honor of working with include Babyface, Walter Afanasieff, Evan Bogart, Neff-U, Smith Carlson, Onree Gill, and Howard Benson.
just in CA... Going to write music with baby face and my dad!!!!!
— Heather Russell (@Russellheather) April 11, 2011
@wafanasieff and the great Heather Russell rehearsing for Hallmark Channel's "Home and Family" show airing this Fri! pic.twitter.com/6vx5zNT9
— Walter Afanasieff (@wafanasieff) December 12, 2012
Heather's musical style
The singer-songwriter is now based in Los Angeles, California, and her music style is majorly pop/soul and contemporary R&B music.
Heather has already put out a lot of original music of her own, all of which is available to stream on iTunes, Spotify, as well as on her YouTube channel. Her Facebook page was last updated in 2019 when she was still signed with Gladiator Records and fans wanting to keep up with her on a regular basis can do so on her Instagram page. Her handle is heatherrussellofficial.
Catch new episodes of 'American Idol' Sundays at 8 pm ET on ABC.