Cay Aliese of Dandridge heads to ‘American Idol’: ‘I want to be a light to the world’

As a child, Cay Aliese used to practice her piano alone in her bedroom. Now she’s playing the piano on “American Idol” in front of celebrity judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie.

The 24-year-old singer-songwriter from Dandridge, Tennessee, is a contestant on the show’s 21^st season. Her first appearance airs 11:35 p.m. March 12, or at the conclusion of the 95^th Academy Awards on ABC.

“’American Idol,’ in so many ways, has changed my life,” Aliese told Knox News. “(The experience) was surreal. It was crazy.”

Appearing on the show holds a deeper meaning for Aliese than just singing. It’s helped her grieve the loss of her dad, Nolan Neal, a musician who appeared on competition shows “The Voice” and “America’s Got Talent.” He unexpectedly died last year in Nashville.

Now, she’s on a healing journey through music and is welcoming people to join and grow with her.

“There's a lot of things that I have walked through and went through … that I will not stay stuck in,” she said. "I want to be a light to the world.”

Ahead of her “American Idol” debut, Aliese spoke with Knox News about her budding career and why she’s intentionally vulnerable in her music.

This conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Had you previously auditioned for shows like 'American Idol'? What made you decide to try out now?

No, this is all new to me. Actually, when I was 16, I did an audition that my dad coordinated, but I was not ready for all that. But “American Idol” is such a new thing for me. Honestly, throughout my life, I’ve had moments where I was like, “Yes, music!” And then I would just be like, “No, I don't want to go down the path that my dad went down. I'm not ready to do music. I don't want to do it.” But when he passed away, I was like, OK, this is what I want to do, and “American Idol” was an opportunity. I was like, I'm either gonna dive right into this, or I'm gonna shy away from it and never do anything with my dreams. So, I did it!

With your dad having an extensive career in music and competition shows, it's almost like you're walking in your dad’s shoes.

Some people say that. I think, in a way, I'm kind of carrying on the torch that I feel like he should have been able to carry. I don't know what you know about my dad, but there's a lot of things that just – I was like, I want to do things differently. “American Idol” gave me the opportunity to just really go through the grieving process of losing my dad, but also find the artist that I want to be while he's not here and do things for myself.

What can you share about your “American Idol” experience? Was there a particular judge you were excited to meet?

It's funny because I didn't grow up with Lionel (Richie). I didn't really grow up with his music; he's a little bit older than my generation. So, I really wasn't excited about meeting Lionel. I was like, “OK, cool, Lionel,” but I grew up on Katy Perry and Luke Bryan. So, I was so excited to meet them, and they were super fun and cool. But Lionel, literally, was just the sweetest human being ever, and he was my favorite. He was so, so sweet. And the process of getting to Vegas, and auditioning, and meeting lifetime friends – one of my very best friends now, I met in Vegas. She's actually flying in to meet with me this weekend. It's like “American Idol,” in so many ways, has changed my life. (The experience) was surreal. It was crazy.

How did you discover you had such a special gift and then develop a sound that sets you apart?

I would love to give like an A-B-C, 1-2-3 system or steps, but genuinely, I grew up in church, I grew up worship leading. The first song I ever recorded, I was 7 and I recorded it with my dad. He always was encouraging, but a lot of people around me were like, “Yeah, she is not gonna be a singer like her dad.” I just didn't sound good, and no one believed that I would ever be where I am now. But I would sing every day. I wasn't the kid that watched TV. I was in my room playing piano. I was singing in the shower every chance I got just because I loved it. I never had any intentions of “I want to be the best singer ever.” I just had so much passion for music. I truly believe that what I have is something that the Lord's given me. It's a gift from the Lord because I have not done anything. I've never had lessons. I don't even do vocal warm-ups, which is probably not good for my voice. Genuinely, I just try to be me in everything that I do and I think that come across in the tone of my voice and in my music.

Do you write your songs as well?

I write all of my songs. … I actually have a brand-new song getting ready to release (March 11) called “Steady Girl.” Writing is my favorite thing to do. I love being in the studio. I love doing shows and meeting people, but writing is like therapy for me. I believe that it’s a gift God gave me, not just for me to heal and to walk through life, but also for others to heal and walk through life. … I wrote one song with my dad. I brought it to him, and we co-wrote it together. I would love to get more into co-writing.

Songwriting definitely takes a special talent.

It’s something else. I think it’s funny because some people will you know go to sessions and sit down and like really have to think about it and then there's some people that everything they do is just like a flowing song and that's I've never had to try. It's just like it's how I heal and process and so I love it

Where do you draw inspiration?

Literally anything. I just wrote a song that’s not even released yet. It’s called “Without the Night.” I was in the car riding around and my son was talking about the darkness, and he (asked), “Is the darkness scary, mommy?” I said “No, baby. No, the darkness isn't scary. Sometimes it just makes things a little harder to see.” And that inspired me. Sometimes we go through things in life and it could feel scary but it's just a little bit harder to see in that moment. Or it can be things like – when my dad passed away, I'm working on a song called “You Knew.” It's about drug addiction and the song’s really vulnerable. It's kind of involving a lot of anger that I had when my dad passed and also the pain behind it.

Your Instagram bio says you’re “just a girl trying to break the cycle and be a light to the world, taking people deeper.” Can you talk a little about that?

What I mean when I say I'm trying to break the cycle, there's a lot of things that I have walked through and went through, the way that I was raised, the things that have happened to me that I will not stay stuck in, and I refuse to let my kids go through it. So, breaking that cycle for me looks like being vulnerable and honest about everything. I was raised to hide a lot of things, to not be open, to not be vulnerable. I was always told emotions are bad, suck it up, you're being dramatic, and so my goal is to break the cycle, to break the stigma that we have to be alone in our feelings. We should all be able to be open because when we keep things hidden, we can't heal. Just like when you have a wound on your arm, if it doesn't meet oxygen, it can't heal if it's always hidden. I (also) want to be a light to the world. I want to shine a light. I don't ever want to bring people down, but I want to be a light that leads people to Jesus and that can help you and that's part of taking people deeper. I truly believe that there's so many of us going through life, we don't know who we are, we don't know what we're here for, and sometimes we have to dig a little deep and not stay surface level and hide things. We've got to get under there and bring it out. That's what I'm about.

You’re very open on social media and allow fans to follow your music journey. Why is it important for you to have that connection, especially as you’re building a fan base?

Oh gosh. Honestly, I struggle with the word “fan” because it's just so weird to me; it’s so strange. I feel like I never want to have fans, I want to have people growing with me. So, it's important to me because, again going back to when people keep things hidden, there's a lot that is hindered and a lot of hurt that could be permitted. With my dad, he was open here and there on social media about his addictions, but he really hid a lot. He suffered a lot in the darkness, and I believe that was one of the reasons that he passed away, due to some of the struggles he had because he wasn't ever fully open about what he was really going through. It's important for me because I'm not doing this to be entertaining. I'm not doing this for my benefit. Obviously, it's a blessing to get to do things like this, to get paid to do music, but I'm doing this because I want to change lives. Whether I look dumb or whatever, it's gonna help someone and that's why I do what I do.

Is there anything you’d like to share about your artistry or “American Idol”?

All I can say is I really hope that I have some more people that want to jump on this healing process with me and follow and see what I'm about. If they want to listen to any of my music, it's out there.

Devarrick Turner is a trending news reporter for Knox News. He can be reached by email at devarrick.turner@knoxnews.com. Follow Devarrick on Twitter @dturner1208.

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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Tennessee singer Cay Aliese appears on ‘American Idol’ after Oscars