Biography

Iraheta was born in Glendale, California, to Salvadoran immigrants who moved to the United States before she was born. She is the youngest in the family, with two older siblings, Jacki and Carlos Iraheta. According to her family, she has been singing since she was a toddler. In 2001, she began taking voice lessons with Raphael Enriquez at the Los Angeles Music and Art School, a non-profit community school of the arts in East Los Angeles. Before rising to prominence, she was a frequent performer at the local Latin Electronics Store La Curaçao and the Los Angeles Music and Art School's annual benefit concert, Stars for the Arts. Iraheta attended Los Angeles' Animo Ralph Bunche Charter High School.

Quinceañera: Mamá Quiero Ser Artista (2006-09)

In 2007, Iraheta won the reality show, “Quinceañera: Mama Quiero Ser Artista” (Sweet Fifteen: Mom, I Want to be an Artist), a reality TV singing competition that was produced and broadcast in 2006-2007 on Telemundo, where she sang in both English and Spanish.

On the show, a group of teenage girls such as Olivia Bonilla, Brissia Mayagoitia, and others of Hispanic and Latino American background competed in a singing competition for the main prize of $50,000 and a record deal. Iraheta was the first (and only) winner of the competition and received the grand prize, but due to legal problems of the show the recording contract was never finalized and the production of the show was closed.

Week #

Song choice

Original artist

Result

Unknown

"Antología"

Shakira

Advanced

Unknown

"La Muerte Del Palomo"

Juan Gabriel

Advanced

Unknown

"Crazy in Love"

Beyoncé

Advanced

Unknown

"Kiss and Say Goodbye"

The Manhattans

Advanced

Unknown

"Volverte a Amar"

Alejandra Guzmán

Advanced

Unknown

"Sin él"

Marisela

Advanced

Unknown

"Mi Historia Entre Tus Dedos"

Gianluca Grignani

Advanced

Unknown

"Cielo Rojo"

Lola Beltrán

Advanced

Finale

"Total Eclipse of the Heart"

Bonnie Tyler

Winner

American Idol (2009)

Main article: American Idol (season 8)

Iraheta auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in San Francisco in 2009. She sang "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin and made it to the Hollywood audition rounds. The judges unanimously agreed to put her through to the semifinals, with Simon Cowell saying "keep your eye on that one" and Paula Abdul predicting that Iraheta would be a "dark horse" in the competition.

Judges Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson declared Iraheta to be "one to watch in this competition" after her rendition of Heart's "Alone" during the semifinals. For her performance, Iraheta earned unanimous praise from the judges, with Abdul praising her for being able to "sing the telephone book". Iraheta was the top vote-getting female of Group 2 and, along with Kris Allen and Adam Lambert, advanced directly from the semifinals.

Iraheta kicked off her run in the finals with a well-received performance of Michael Jackson's "Give In to Me". Once again, Abdul praised Iraheta for being a "rock star," with the rest of the panel in agreement. The following week, Iraheta performed "Blame It On Your Heart" by Patty Loveless. Iraheta received rave reviews from the judges, but landed in the Bottom 3 for the first time. On Motown Night, Iraheta performed a cover of the Temptations' "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone". The performance earned a standing ovation from mentor Smokey Robinson, as well as further praise from the judges. DioGuardi enthusiastically lauded Iraheta for having a voice that "comes from God...you can't teach that! You sing like you've been singing for 400 years!"

On Top Downloads night, Iraheta performed No Doubt's "Don't Speak" while accompanying herself on the guitar and ended up in the Bottom 3 again. For her performance during Top 8 week, Iraheta sang Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me", for which she received much acclaim. Jackson compared her to first season winner Kelly Clarkson, and DioGuardi commented, "You know what? Let's go make a record!" After covering "I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" during Movie Night, Cowell boldly stated "We can see you all the way through the end now. You are the girls' only hope " Abdul compared her to fellow contestant Adam Lambert, saying that the two possessed the same "special sauce."

During the second Top 7 Night (due to the judges' save of Matt Giraud), Iraheta performed a rock-infused version of Donna Summer's "Hot Stuff". Emerging on a glowing, red staircase, Iraheta was praised by Cowell for delivering "a brilliant performance". DioGuardi also praised Iraheta by saying, "That was like a 9-10 for me!" The following night, Iraheta again landed in the bottom 3 for the third time, and Lil Rounds was eliminated from the competition, leaving Iraheta as the last remaining female contestant. The next week, Iraheta performed a widely acclaimed cover of "Someone to Watch Over Me" as part of the Rat Pack theme. Jackson compared her vocal ability to Pink, "but with 9,000 more octaves", while DioGuardi remarked, "you converted some fans tonight... If that doesn't land you in the finals, I don't know what will!". During the subsequent results show, it was revealed that Iraheta was among the Top 2 vote-getters (along with Danny Gokey) for the night.

The following week, Iraheta performed a solo version of "Cry Baby" and closed the show with "Slow Ride", a duet with Adam Lambert. Regarding her performance of "Cry Baby", Cowell remarked that her growth throughout the competition was "staggering", and praised her for her "complete confidence and terrific vocals". Her duet of "Slow Ride" with Lambert received further praise from the judges, with DioGuardi describing her as a "rock goddess". Mentor Slash commented that Iraheta possessed a better voice than most women "twice her age".

On May 6, 2009, Iraheta was eliminated from the competition in 4th place. Slash tweeted that "Alison didn't deserve to be voted off AI so soon, she has amazing potential." Similarly, American Idol music director Rickey Minor was "absolutely shocked" at her departure.

Week #

Theme

Song choice

Artist

Order #

Result

Audition

Auditioner's Choice

"(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman"

Aretha Franklin

N/A

Advanced

Hollywood

First Solo

N/A

Advanced

Hollywood

Group Performance

N/A

Advanced

Hollywood

Second Solo

"Because of You"

Kelly Clarkson

N/A

Advanced

Top 36/Semi-Final 2

Billboard Hot 100 Hits to Date

"Alone"

i-TEN

5

Advanced

Top 13

Michael Jackson

"Give In to Me"

Michael Jackson

7

Safe

Top 11

Grand Ole Opry

"Blame It on Your Heart"

Patty Loveless

2

Bottom 31

Top 10

Motown

"Papa Was a Rollin' Stone"

The Undisputed Truth

10

Safe

Top 9

Top Downloads

"Don't Speak"

No Doubt

4

Bottom 31

Top 8

Year They Were Born

"I Can't Make You Love Me"

Bonnie Raitt

6

Safe

Top 7

Songs from the Cinema

"I Don't Want to Miss a Thing" - Armageddon

Aerosmith

1

Safe

Top 72

Disco

"Hot Stuff"

Donna Summer

4

Bottom 3

Top 5

Rat Pack Standards

"Someone to Watch Over Me"

Gertrude Lawrence

2

Safe

Top 4

Rock and roll Solo Duet

"Cry Baby" "Slow Ride" with Adam Lambert

Garnet Mimms Foghat

2 6

Eliminated

Just Like You (2009-2012)

Main article: Just Like You (Allison Iraheta album)

After her elimination, Iraheta made guest appearances on Live with Regis and Kelly, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien, Larry King Live, as well as local Fox television affiliates and numerous radio stations across the country. She performed on the Grand Finale of American Idol season 8, including a group medley of "So What" and a duet of "Time After Time" with original artist Cyndi Lauper.

On June 9, 2009, following weeks of speculation, it was officially confirmed that Iraheta had signed a record deal with Jive Records and 19 Recordings. Since Iraheta finished 4th place in American Idol season 8, she participated in American Idols LIVE! Tour 2009, performing "So What" by Pink, "Cry Baby" by Janis Joplin, "Barracuda" by Heart, and "Slow Ride" (with Adam Lambert) by Foghat. Iraheta also performed "Barracuda" by Heart on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien on July 15, 2009 to promote the tour. In September 2009, Allison concluded the 50 city tour with her fellow Idol contestants, during which she began recording her debut album, Just Like You, under Jive Records, working with Kevin Rudolf, David Hodges, Tommy Henriksen and Max Martin In April 2010, it was announced Iraheta would be opening for Adam Lambert on his 2010 "GlamNation Tour".

Iraheta's debut album was released December 1, 2009. The lead single "Friday I'll Be Over U", produced by Max Martin, debuted on October 5, 2009 and was made available through digital distribution on November 3, 2009. According to Rolling Stone, Jive expected Allison to sell 75,000 copies of her album in the first week. The album sold approximately 32,000 copies in its first week, debuting at number 35 on the Billboard 200 album chart. Approximately 7,000 of the copies sold in the first week were sold digitally, resulting in a debut at number 14 on the Billboard Digital Albums Chart. Allison's song "Pieces" was featured on the January 13th episode of American Idol. Allison performed her second single "Scars" on American Idol's Season 9 Top 24 results show on February 25, 2010. Allison joined Orianthi on Adam Lambert's Glam Nation tour. In a July 2010 interview with Beatweek Magazine Iraheta stated that she would be writing more material for her second album and that it would be much more 'personal'. She stated, "So I think I'm gonna get more personal when I start writing." Iraheta was dropped by record label Jive Records in September 2010, due to her debut album underperforming. She was also dropped from 19 Entertainment. She is currently writing music for her second album. On March 1, 2012, one of Iraheta's new songs, titled "Self-Control", was featured in a video for Skaist-Taylor.

Halo Circus - Formation and Debut Album (2013-Present)

On January 3, 2013, Iraheta announced on her Twitter account that she had formed a new band called Halo Circus. The band consists of Iraheta (vocals), Matthew Hager (bass, keyboards), David Immerman (guitars) and Valerie Franco (drums). The band marks a change of musical direction for Iraheta following a hiatus in 2012, a time which she used to "regroup, find myself and rediscover my voice." Halo Circus played their first gig at The Troubadour in West Hollywood, California on January 26, 2013. Iraheta eloped with bass player, Matthew Hager the next day, January 27, 2013. They played their second gig at Whisky a Go Go on April 17 and their third gig at the Hotel Cafe on May 21, 2013. On May 30, 2013 footage from their Hotel Cafe performance, along with an interview with Iraheta and Hager was featured on the NBC Latino website. In the interview, Hager said "Allison happens to be one of the finest vocalists I've ever heard on every level". It was announced on June 14, 2013 that Valerie Franco would be leaving the band. On June 25, 2013 Veronica Bellino was announced as her replacement on the Halo Circus Facebook page. In July 2013 the band signed a deal with the Manimal Vinyl label. They released their first single, "Gone", via iTunes on October 8, 2013. On July 15, 2014, Halo Circus released their second single, a cover of Duran Duran's "Do You Believe in Shame?". This release was met to very positive reviews from critics, and is set to be included in an upcoming Duran Duran tribute album. Their debut album was announced to be "coming soon" from their band's official YouTube trailer of the group.

Backing band

• David Immerman - lead guitar, backing vocals
• Matthew Hager - bass, keyboards
• Valerie Franco - drums, backing vocals
• Liz Anne Hill - bass, backing vocals
• Gerry Mattei - Keyboards, backing vocals

Discography

Studio albums

Studio albums as a solo artist

Year	Album details	Peak positions		Certifications
		US	US Digital
2009	Just Like You	35	14

Studio albums as lead singer of Halo Circus

Year	Album details	Peak positions		Certifications
		US	US Digital
2016	TBA	TBR	TBR

Singles

Year	Single	Peak	Album	Sales
		US
2009	"Slow Ride"	105	American Idol performances	34,000
	"Friday I'll Be Over U"	—	Just Like You	54,000
2010	"Scars"	—		20,000
	"Don't Waste the Pretty	—		4,000
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year	Title
2009	"Friday I'll Be Over U"

Songs in other media

Year	Title	Type	Song
2010	American Idol	TV series episode: "Atlanta Auditions"	"Pieces"
	Audition Online	PC Game	"Friday I'll Be Over U"
	Monster High	TV animated special	"Friday I'll Be Over U"
			"Scars" "Theme song "

Awards and nominations

Year	Presenter	Award	Result
2009	Teen Choice Awards	Choice Summer Tour	Nominated

[ Source: Wikipedia ]