Booted 'Idol' Contestant Lands Lead Role

[Limeoutsider]

SEATTLE - Kicked off the TV talent show "American Idol" because she once worked for an adult-oriented Web site, Frenchie Davis has landed her first professional lead role.\
The singer from Los Angeles was to begin rehearsals on Monday for the top role in the upcoming production of "Dreamgirls."
"There are a lot of people who were on 'American Idol,'" Davis told The Associated Press in an interview. "But not all of them are getting lead roles." Davis, 24, will play the part of Effie Melody White in the revival of "Dreamgirls," which was a hit on Broadway in the 1980s. The new production will play in San Jose, Calif., from Jan. 9-25; in Sacramento, Calif., from Jan. 27-Feb. 8; and in Seattle from Feb. 11-29. Davis reached the final 30 contestants on "American Idol" earlier this year and had planned to sing a song from "Dreamgirls" as part of the competition when she was given the boot by producers and Fox executives. Fox said she was fired because she had worked on the adult Web site after her sophomore year at Howard University.
Davis said she was completely honest with the producers and executives when she auditioned for the show.
"I disclosed that I posed in lingerie on an adult Web site to pay my tuition for college," she said. "I told them that in November, and it wasn't a problem. In February, they decided to kick me off of the show."
Davis previously appeared in the Broadway play "Rent" and also has signed a contract to record her first CD. After she gets done with "Dreamgirls" and her CD, she plans to return to Howard University to complete her degree in theater arts.


Good for her.

[Mimi]

Good for Frenchie. I'm glad to see that. She's a mighty strong woman (in brains, appearance, AND attitude), and she impressed me a helluva lot from the first time I saw her. She didn't let that crap the American Idol execs pulled stop her from pursuing her dreams, and if anything it only gave her more drive to succeed.

She's an amazing woman.

Mimi

[Oddjob0226]

I played the lead role of Elwood P. Dowd in "Harvey" for 2 weeks at Theater On the Hill in 1986 without showing my boobs. Where's my medal?