'American Idol' cut a singer off over a scandal — but then 'The Voice' gave her the comeback she deserved
If you don't believe that life gives all a second chance, ask Frenchie Davis, a former contestant on 'American Idol' Season 2. The hopeful lit the stage on fire with her auditions. However, her run was cut short when it was revealed that the singer had taken topless photos of herself ahead of her career, per the New York Post. The outlet also revealed that Davis admitted that she posed topless photos for a website to fund her Major in theatre from Howard University. Given that, there was no stopping Davis. Despite the controversy, she was able to make a mark on the hit Broadway show 'Rent,' making a fresh start on TV, per Collider.
However, when Antonella Barba's, a season 6 contestant's, NSFW photos resurfaced online, and 'American Idol' chose not to eliminate her, the singer didn't hold back, "I couldn't help but notice the difference between how she was dealt with and how I was dealt with.... I think it's fantastic if Idol has evolved, and I think it's fantastic she won't have to go through what I went through four years ago ... but if the rules have changed, I believe there should be something to make up for the fact that I was humiliated needlessly," she told the aforementioned outlet.
Nonetheless, Davis got her redeeming chance when NBC aired another singing competition, 'The Voice.' Davis didn't let the chance slide and went on for the blind auditions. She belted out Katy Perry's 'I Kissed a Girl', with amazing vocal range, prompting then judge Christina Aguilera to turn her chair. Being in Aguilera's team, Davis excelled on the show, finishing in the 5th place, according to Collider.
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After her success on 'The Voice', the young singer told in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, "What this show represents for me is a chance to reintroduce my talent to the world because they didn’t get to see it in the two minutes of airtime I was on Idol. It’s a chance to reintroduce the full extent of my talent to the world, and this time, win or lose, I’ll walk away being remembered for my talent and nothing else.” She also added, “There was a part of my life when I had allowed what happened with Idol to scare the hell out of me, and there was a part of me that was afraid to take a chance."
But for the singer, appearing on 'The Voice' was anything far from being a last shot. “I don’t see anything as a last shot — I’m sure that some people saw Idol as my last shot and it was not,” she told the outlet. She also added, “What this show is about for me is not about necessarily winning. When I left Idol, most people remembered me because of the scandal. If I couldn’t sing, then maybe I could live with that. What this show represents for me is a chance to reintroduce my talent to the world because they didn’t get to see it in the two minutes of airtime I was on Idol. It’s a chance to reintroduce the full extent of my talent to the world, and this time, win or lose, I’ll walk away being remembered for my talent and nothing else."