Q+A with Mary Jo Young

WRITTEN BY

Samra Karamustafic

The American Idol contestant tells us what it was like to sing in front of three superstars, her yodeling experience, and more in this fun Q+A.

Apparently, stepping onto the American Idol stage feels a little bit like entering heaven thanks to the bright studio lighting — according to Mary Jo Young, that is.

That’s the first thing that the American Idol judges and viewers at home heard her say as she introduced herself on the show.

The 19-year-old former real estate sales associate is a contestant on the national singing competition show this season, appearing in an episode that first aired back in late February. Quick spoiler alert: after blowing the judges away with her rendition of “You Broke Me First” by Tate McRae, Mary Jo secured the golden ticket and is on her way to Hollywood!

The Cleveland native and former Cleveland State University student has come a long way from her elementary school yodeling days. What began as simply posting singing videos to Twitter and TikTok has turned into the opportunity of a lifetime for the young singer.

I got the chance to sit down and chat with Mary Jo over the phone about her American Idol experience, what it’s like to be TikTok famous, and what’s next for the singer.

MARY JO YOUNG Life is treating me pretty well! I’m taking it all in and overall it’s pretty good!

MARY JO My whole family has been pretty musical. Everyone in my family is involved with music in some way: my dad has a crazy good voice and my mom sings too. I sang when I was younger, but as I grew up, I became more secretive about it.

MARY JO The only singing I had done was in the school talent show in the first grade with my sister. After that, I hadn’t really done anything until I tried learning how to yodel — I was really bad at it because I only had three days to learn how to do it for another school talent show. I didn’t make it, but I think that triggered it a little bit. Even though it’s not singing, it still contributed to my stage fright. Plus, when I moved to Ohio [from Tennessee], it was like “Oh, nobody knows I sing, so this is perfect!” I think my confidence went down as I got older because with little kids you have to tell them that they’re good.

MARY JO I like that I get to do my own thing and be my own person doing it. I don’t have to “copycat” anyone and I can have fun finding my own style. Plus, I get to find my own voice within everything and learn more about my singing and what I can do with my voice.

MARY JO Originally, I was kind of terrified of the idea, but I started posting videos on TikTok, and people kept commenting and telling me to [audition]. Then some of the people from the casting team at American Idol actually reached out to me and I talked to them. I just thought, “Okay, what better way to break the ice?” So then I just went ahead and auditioned!

MARY JO Well, my friends had all of these inside jokes about TikTok and I felt left out, so I thought, “Okay, I’m going to get TikTok!” I started posting singing videos on Twitter first and so my thought was “Let’s just drag them over to TikTok,” since all of these other people were doing really well with their music on there. At that point, it just started to take off!

MARY JO Oh my gosh, I was TERRIFIED! I was super excited because I was like “Wow, look at these guys! They look just like they do in the pictures!” I felt excited to meet them but nervous to sing in front of them, so I had two different feelings about the entire situation.

MARY JO It was — eh, I don’t know. I really don’t know. I was nervous to sing in front of my mom but at the same time, it almost felt more comfortable. I think that if I was singing in front of my mom alone, I would’ve felt even more nervous. But having the judges give a good reaction to the first song I’d sung made me feel more confident to sing in front of my mom.

@maryjo.young

MARY JO Go about it in whichever way you feel most comfortable with, whether that’s posting videos on social media or going out and auditioning for a show. Just make sure that you’re comfortable and happy doing it, then go with it and have fun!

MARY JO I think it was when Luke [Bryan] was talking to me because he was just being so supportive and complimenting [my singing]. When he was talking about everything after I sang, it just opened my eyes a little bit more because then my mom looked at me and I think that was when I thought, “Oh wow, this is really happening!”

MARY JO I got together with my family and my closest friends safely — with masks and socially-distanced, of course — and we watched it together!

MARY JO No matter what happens with American Idol, I’m thankful for it and I’m going to keep enjoying it and having fun with it. But I’m really excited to see what’s going to come out of this experience, like touring and concerts and everything like that. I think that would be really fun. I’m most excited to see what’s to come while having this experience with American Idol and enjoying it.

Things certainly aren’t slowing down for Mary Jo. Since our chat, she’s released her very first single, “Carpet”, she’s gotten a bunch of Twitter shoutouts from judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan, and she’s featured in the March 21 episode of American Idol.

No matter what happens with American Idol, one thing’s for sure: this certainly won’t be the last time we hear about Mary Jo!

Mary Jo’s original song Carpet out now!