But the performer didn’t survive the notoriously grueling rounds of Hollywood Week, and was sent home early. The singer made it on the show after wowing then-celebrity judges Nicki Minaj, Keith Urban, Mariah Carey and Randy Jackson with “I’d Rather Go Blind” by Etta James. His reason for dropping out: getting on American Idol the first time, in season 12 – as Adam Sanders, not yet Ada Vox. Sanders graduated from South San High School and attended UTSA briefly as a music-performance major – he played the clarinet – before leaving school. His connection to music, however, intensified when his mother sang to him in the hospital when Sanders was recovering from the removal of a cyst that had developed on his brain stem when he was eight years old. Vox, the first drag queen in the show’s 16-year history, exposed millions of uninitiated Americans to the art of drag.īut fans of San Antonio’s drag scene knew Vox from way back – or thought they did.īorn Adam Sanders in San Antonio in 1993, he grew up singing. On the night she was eliminated, April 29, Vox sang The Lion King’s “The Circle of Life,” donning another decadent ensemble – gold chains that matched her hair, which flowed like Mufasa’s mane. “And each time you come, you take us to another level, and I am going to be right here to make sure I see you reach the top. “I can’t even tell you how proud I am of you,” judge Lionel Richie said to her that week. She then decimated her audience with “The Show Must Go On” by the iconic gay-fronted rock group Queen. One evening, she strolled out in a shimmering, raven-like ensemble of black feathers, silver fringe and rhinestones – fit for the likes of Diana Ross. Vox’s numbers and costume choices became more refined as the competition progressed. “You’ve heard the expression ‘wig snatched’?” she asked as Vox flipped her enormous ponytail to one side.
Vox followed up with her interpretation of Nina Simone’s “Feeling Good,” which brought judge Katy Perry to her knees. Vox grabbed our attention early on with an incandescent rendition of Radiohead’s “Creep,” and she didn’t let go. Courtesy of Disney/ABC Press To most American Idol viewers, the singing drag queen Ada Vox came out of nowhere to turn in one stunning prime-time performance after another.
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