Nutter Fort’s Katy Bartlett emerged from Saturday’s American Idol auditions in Charleston with a golden ticket. Her next stop was Infinite Energy Arena in Duluth, Ga, where she was also given a green light. In the near future, she hopes to be singing in living rooms across the nation through the second ABC-televised season of the famed talent search.

 

A 2009 graduate of Lincoln High School, the former Katy Jenkins grew up singing, mostly in church. These days, she often sings with her husband Justin and/or their children: 7-year-old Gabriel, 6-year-old Ella and 4-year-old Silas at Free Will Baptist PK Addition. It was her cousin and church member, Marlene Pumphrey, who suggested she consider the Idol audition opportunity.

 

“She texted me and said she had been thinking about me all morning because she heard ‘American Idol’ as coming to Charleston and she thought I should audition,” Bartlett said.

 

The deciding factor, she said, came when she researched the show and its rules.

 

“Next year, I’ll be too old to audition so I thought ‘what the heck,’” Bartlett said.

 

In fact, she turned 28 – the ceiling age for the competition – this past Tuesday.

 

Once deciding to the affirmative to audition, Bartlett said she sent in an audition video, which is optional, she said. She chose “Known” by Tauren Wells, one of the contemporary Christian selections she sometimes sings at church.

 

Then came time for the live audition at Charleston Civic Center. The Sept. 15 auditions were the last on a long series of auditions, which started Aug. 25 in Orlando, Fla. and continued to San Diego, Chattanooga, Albuquerque, Buffalo, Houston, Philadelphia and many other cities.

She said she wasn't really nervous about the audition.

 

“I just told God that this was His will and asked Him to help me be a witness for Him as I was trying to do it,” Bartlett said.

 

Saturday’s audition was a memorable experience.

 

“I got there around 8 a.m. and doors opened at 9 a.m. Once I got inside – around 2 or 3 p.m. – I didn’t sing for another hour,” she said.

 

There were four judges; one awaiting each of four lines of auditionees.

 

“Everyone auditioned in front of his or her own judge, but in front of everybody,” Bartlett said. “It was kind of chaotic because you could hear people auditioning 10 feet beside you.”

 

Bartlett first sang “You Say” by Lauren Daigle. The fact that her female judge asked her to sing a second selection was a good sign. For her next performance, she chose “Holding On To You” by Miranda Lambert.  

 

After finishing her audition, Bartlett was asked to step back while judges addressed the other three vocalists who had auditioned at the same time. After they were sent home without a golden ticket, Bartlett was told her fate was different.

 

“Once picked, they sent you to a back room to sing those two songs again and then the third in front of a camera and they sent them on to executive producers,” Bartlett said.

 

Her third recorded tune was the same as her audition video: “Known” by Tauren Wells.

 

One of the first people she texted to share the good news was Pumphrey.

 

“She told me she had been praying all morning and she knew I’d be able to get through,” Bartlett said.

 

Then, it was on to Georgia.

 

"The first set of judges we had to sing in front of were like the 'preliminary' rounds to see if you were good enough to auditoin in front of the executive producers," Bartlett said. "I made it past that - thank God - and got to sing in front of the executives. Now, I just have to wait for a call back to see if I made it to sing in front of the actual judges in New York City." 

 

She said she was given a choice as to whether she would audition in front of the actual show judges. She chose NYC as her first choice, with LA her second choice. 

 

Bartlett said she cannot believe how much support she has received since word got out that she was awarded the infamous golden ticket.

 

She performed the same songs that had gotten her through the first round of the competition.

 

This season of American Idol features celebrity judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie with Emmy award-winning producer Ryan Seacrest returning as host.

 

Bartlett lived in Georgia for three years when her husband was deployed with the U.S. military. Prior to that, she lived in Shinnston.

 

Bartlett's in-laws Troy and Anne Bartlett live in Bridgeport.