SAUGUS — Ariaunna Eveleth’s family say they’ve always known she was talented.
As early as 7 years old, Eveleth, now 19, proved she had a voice to be reckoned with, belting out Celine Dion and Arianna Grande to her mother and grandmother’s disbelief during American Idol-themed karaoke nights on the family’s PlayStation.
“That was all I used to play,” she said. “I told my mom that one day I was going to be (on American Idol).”
Now, that childhood dream might be just within her grasp as the 2020 Saugus High School graduate anxiously awaits the results of a virtual audition she sent in earlier this month to the popular reality show, which will air its 19th season sometime next year.
Even though she won’t hear whether she made it to the next round of auditions until October, Eveleth’s mother, Amanda Vincente, said simply gathering the courage to send in a video has been a major accomplishment for the shy performer.
“She doesn’t think she’s good enough. I’m like, are you kidding me?” Vincent said. “Ever since she was little, I’ve always listened to her sing. I have videos of her singing ‘Dangerous Woman’ at her 16th birthday (party). She blew it away.”
The fiercely close mother-daughter duo say their path hasn’t always been an easy one.
Despite her talent and mother’s unconditional encouragement, Eveleth has always been hesitant to perform in front of large crowds, instead opting to sing in the safety and comfort of her own bedroom, although her mother said she still held on to the idea of one day singing for a captive audience.
“She kept saying ‘when I turn 16, I’m going to audition for American Idol,’” said Vincente, 38. “But when she turned 16, they weren’t (holding auditions) here.”
Putting her dreams on hold, Eveleth focused instead on getting through high school, which she and her mother both say was a feat in and of itself.
The oldest of five children, Eveleth had already weathered several moves in her young life, living in Lynn, Salem, and Amesbury before the family relocated to Saugus at the beginning of Eveleth’s sophomore year of high school.
“We moved here and it was like a downfall for her,” Vincente said, explaining that her daughter suffered from a vicious bout of bullying that took over nearly every aspect of her life and caused her to lose all interest in singing.
The situation got so bad, in fact, that Vincente said she was forced to call the police.
“(Ariaunna) stopped singing. She gave up everything, and I’m like, ‘this is not my daughter. This is not her,” she said. “I didn’t know what to do. I tried to get her out of school, but (we) couldn’t do anything, and then it got really bad. She started isolating herself in her room, and I was scared for her.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in March and schools moved online for the remainder of the year, Eveleth said it was like a blessing in disguise.
With social pressures out of the way, she began to once again focus on singing, although she never dreamed of auditioning when American Idol announced it would hold virtual auditions for its upcoming season.
Not wanting her daughter to miss a chance to shine, Vincente stepped in.
“The last couple of weeks I heard her singing in her room, then I saw ‘Open Call Audition’ and I was like ‘I’m gonna apply for her.’
“I said ‘by the way, you have an audition coming up for American Idol,’” Vincente said with a laugh. “She (freaked out).”
As nervous as she was, Eveleth said she put plenty of thought into choosing her audition song, ultimately settling on “When I Look at You” by Miley Cyrus, one of her favorite artists from her childhood.
“It took a long time,” she said. “I actually chose that one last-minute. My mom was bugging me about it, and I didn’t know what to sing, and then I remembered that song from when I was younger because it’s from a movie I used to watch all the time.
“I was like, ‘that’s what I’m going to do.’”
Regardless of the outcome of her American Idol audition, Eveleth says she’s found a new drive to pursue singing — and her mother plans to stick by her daughter’s side through it all.
“She fought to graduate this year. There were restless nights where I was up until five in the morning to help her, because it was hard,” Vincente said. “I want it all for her. She’s a good girl, and she’s been through hell. She found her own way out of it and did everything she had to do.
“She’s amazing.”
Elyse Carmosino can be reached at [email protected].
