One American Idol Contestant Has Ties Rooted In El Paso

Who doesn't know what American Idol is? So many people have attempted to try out for the show but only a few get the lucky chance to do so. The show is on their 20th season and there's one contestant that, even though she lives in L.A., she indeed has El Paso roots.

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17 year old Danielle Finn is a contestant in the 20th season for American Idol. She has been singing since the age of 7 & in an interview with KVIA, it's been revealed that her grandmother, Lainey Bookbinder, went to school & graduated from El Paso High. (Even though her class isn't listed, she IS listed on the official El Paso High alumni website). Her grandmother later moved to Phoenix & followed her children to retire in Los Angeles. Her grandmother Lainey still runs the Jewish Community Foundation in Phoenix.

Last night Danielle performed a cover of "Easy On Me" by Adele which the judges (Luke Bryan, Katy Perry & Lionel Richie) were all impressed.

Believe it or not, this not the first time a person from around the El Paso area has been on American Idol. Dzaki Sukarno, the NMSU graduate from Las Cruces got to audition for the show back in 2020. He got the Golden Ticket but unfortunately didn't go far on the show. However he's still making music so that didn't stop him one bit.

There were more El Paso contestants who auditioned: Kenneth Berba & Elia Esparza (also performed an Adele song on the show).

I love seeing more singers from El Paso & around El Paso featured on shows like The Voice or American Idol. The world definitely deserves seeing more talent from El Paso on television.