By Sarah SumadiThe Daily Northwestern
A Northwestern graduate is “the one to beat” on “American Idol,” according to Randy Jackson, one of the popular music competition’s three judges.
Sabrina Sloan, Communication ’01, got rave reviews after singing Aretha Franklin’s “I Never Loved a Man the Way I Loved You” on Wednesday night, and viewers voted her into the top 20 Thursday.
Sloan, 27, was the fourth of 12 female contestants to sing live Wednesday, and even Simon Cowell – notorious for being impossible to please – said her performance was the best he had seen so far.
“You really showed the difference between just taking part (in the competition) and genuinely having a desire to win with talent,” Cowell said.
Jill Hudson, a representative from the “American Idol’s” public relations department, said in an e-mail that contestants aren’t allowed to do press interviews.
Theatre Prof. Dominic Missimi knew Sloan by her maiden name, Sabrina Scherff. He directed her in several NU productions and counted her among his favorite students.
“She could sing, act and dance – a real triple threat,” Missimi said. “She was outgoing but never over the top. And she knew the value of hard work.”
Sloan’s work ethic at NU helped her develop a powerful voice, Missimi said.
“Her voice started out small and sweet, not a lot of presence,” she said. “But it kept growing until she could finally make a lot of noise with it.”
During her senior year, Sloan was cast as the lead in NU’s production of the musical “Children of Eden.” Both alumni and professors said her powerful, gospel-infused performance as the matriarch Eve and Mama Noah was her most memorable role.
“When she sang that role, she didn’t even need a spotlight,” said Prof. Rives Collins, who directed “Eden.” “She lit up the stage all by herself. There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.”
Talleri McRae, Communication ’02, also appeared in “Eden” and recalled the first time she heard Sloan sing a solo in rehearsal.
“The minute she started singing, the energy in the room was just electric,” McRae said.
After graduation, Sloan worked as a singer in New York City and joined the national tour of the Broadway musical “Hairspray.” She was living in Studio City, Calif., with her husband, Chip Sloan, when she traveled to Minneapolis to audition for the show.
“I love watching the show, and this year I just knew I had to give it a shot or I would regret it,” Sloan said in a video shown before she sang Wednesday.
Jackson and fellow judge Paula Abdul sent Sloan to Hollywood after they heard her rendition of Alicia Keys’ “If I Ain’t Got You,” but Cowell said she would need “the best song in the world to get through to the next round.”
The judges won’t unnerve Sloan, McRae said.
“She’s so grounded as a performer and as a person,” McRae said. “She can turn the critical eye on herself. If she flubbed, she would know it – she doesn’t need them to tell her.”
A viewer poll on AOL Television’s Web site had Sloan ranked fifth among the 12 female contestants. Many of the other contestants were featured in previous episodes, but Sloan didn’t get any airtime until her performance Wednesday.
Viewers on the show’s message boards say Sloan’s lack of airtime may put her at a disadvantage to more familiar contestants who have been gathering fans for weeks.
“But there’s so much more to Sabrina than people have seen so far,” Collins said. “She has a lot to work with, and the audience is in for some real surprises.”
“American Idol,” which airs on Fox, has posted record ratings for its sixth season, securing nearly 30 million viewers each episode, according to a Reuters news service.
Sloan will compete again this Wednesday, when the 20 finalists are cut down to 16.
“I predict she’s going to go all the way,” McRae said. “But even if she doesn’t, she’s still going to be the same fabulous person she was yesterday.”
Reach Sarah Sumadi at [email protected].
