Algonquin's Kaeyra Works To Make 'American Idol' Her American Dream

ALGONQUIN, IL — Considering the absolute enormity of the moment she found herself in and the fact that the stage on which she stood had always been the dream, standing in front of three "American Idol" judges seemed like an inopportune time for Kaeyra to completely zone out.

And yet, as she walked out of the biggest audition of her life with the coveted Golden Ticket in hand, the 21-year-old Algonquin native and 2019 Huntley High School graduate couldn’t remember anything that had just happened. Absolutely nothing

And so, when she later posted a video of herself watching the televised broadcast of her "American Idol" audition with the rest of the country on her Instagram page, the raw emotions of excitement and bewilderment that poured out were real.

Three “yes” votes from judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan propelled the singer onto the Hollywood portion of the “American Idol” competition. On Sunday, Kaeyra will again find herself in front of a nationally televised audience when the initial rounds of the competition will air at 7 p.m. CST on ABC.

Of course, Kaeyra already knows where things stand as those who advance from the Hollywood portion that will air on Sunday and Monday will move on to Hawaii, and the portion of live voting when American viewers will decide who keeps going.

But there is part of Kaeyra — even now — that still struggles to believe that she’s actually here.

For a singer who started performing at age 12 after spending every day at her mother’s music school in Schaumburg, reaching the “American Idol” stage has been nothing short of surreal. But given all she has done to get to this point, Kaeyra is hoping that this stage — as big as it is — is just the beginning.

“It’s insane because I’ve been watching 'American Idol' since I was very young,” Kaeyra told Patch in a telephone interview on Thursday from her Los Angeles home. “I remember that moment, and it’s just crazy that I’m actually participating in it and doing pretty well. I’m just excited to keep going and make Illinois proud and keep fighting.”

From the beginning, Kaeyra’s parents encouraged her to dream as big as she wished. But, they warned, nothing would come to her without putting in the work. Her parents had come to the United States from Poland with $1,000 to their name, not really speaking English and knowing all of maybe two people, she said. As far back as she can remember, Kaeyra watched as her parents worked for everything they got in their new life.

Inspired by her parents’ example, Kaeyra was never intimidated by hard work, but instead, committed herself to a grinding mentality and drive to make it in a music business that can be very unforgiving. She started small and eventually worked her way to performing at Chicago Bulls and White Sox games, Lollapalooza and other venues. Since moving to Los Angeles four years ago, Kaeyra still sings at Maestro’s Steakhouse three or four times a week, performing covers of other artists’ work four hours a night to support herself and to keep herself in that performer's mindset.

But no matter the size of the space in which she performed, Kaeyra says she never lost sight of the vision her parents had when they immigrated to the United States and eventually settled in Algonquin.

“They were always chasing their American dream and I feel like being on ‘American Idol’ is really a definition of an American dream for us,” Kaeyra told Patch.

After getting through her audition, where her rendition of Chris Stapleton’s “Cold” led Bryan to give her a standing ovation and Perry to tell her that performing “is in her blood”, Kaeyra hasn’t stopped beaming. She said she grew up with her parents listening to Lionel Richie, who she admits remains her favorite “American Idol” judge and who has provided her with the inspiration to not lose sight of what brought her to this place.

Despite not really remembering much of what happened in her Golden Ticket moment, Kaeyra looks back at the experience as the moment when everything came together and she showcased the talents that had allowed her to reach this stage. After she finished her audition, Richie said if she could take her “moody” voice and transfer it to a variety of musical genres, she could become "Idol" material.

Yet as long as she had pictured herself in this space, it wasn't until she stood in front of Richie, Bryan and Perry, that Kaeyra realized, “Oh my God — this is actually happening.”

From there, she just let her abilities take over. While her experience being on stage has been a benefit, Kaeyra admits that she is still working on her nerves. She is learning to not fight with her feelings, but work through them in a way that doesn’t allow her anxiousness to stand in the way of a quality performance.

But even dealing with the butterflies provided her with a memorable moment when she said Richie walked by her, noticed she was anxious and pulled her aside.

At that moment, Richie took the young singer by the hands and told her just to believe in herself and go out and do her thing.

“He gave me this little pep talk and I remember thinking, ‘Did Lionel Richie just give me a pep talk?’,” Kaeyra said. “I thought, ‘This has to be good now.’”

The fact the rounds that will air Sunday and Monday were pre-taped has forced Kaeyra to keep any results to herself. She says that, like her Golden Ticket moment, not being able to divulge what happened in the past to any of her friends has been among the toughest aspects of the competition. For weeks before her audition aired, she wanted to tell everyone what was happening and scream the fact she had made it, giving those closest to her a glimpse into the latest chapter of her musical journey.

Since her first “American Idol” appearance aired last month, Kaeyra has been flooded with support from family and friends, including those back in Algonquin, where her mother still lives, and in surrounding communities that she said made her who she is today.

“A lot of the people who saw me perform in little shows when I was 12 are the same people who are watching me on ‘American Idol’ and it’s just crazy to share that with them,” Kaeyra said.

“It’s just the best feeling to know that you have that support system behind you.”’

Algonquin remains the place where Kaeyra says she goes to clear her head. She refers to her hometown as “this peaceful, amazing place” that is so different than her L.A. reality. She remembers planning to venture out to a local grocery store at night by herself when she first moved to Los Angeles — only to be told that it wasn’t safe for her to do so.

So even four years after she left to chase after her dreams, Kaeyra remains connected to Chicago’s Northwest Suburbs in a meaningful way. She always appreciates the times when she can return and visit childhood friends and frequent the places she did as a high school student that remain friendly and familiar despite the time that has passed since she was more of a regular.

“I do love that small-town feeling and now, I really feel it in the way that people really support me,” Kaeyra told Patch. “It’s really that small-town feeling where people just come together and help out. It’s amazing.”

Yet, along with the support she receives from her hometown, it is a lesson that Kaeyra learned growing up that remains engrained in her. She constantly leans on the work ethic that her parents passed on and that she now hopes can carry her deep into the competition.

She realizes that there are likely young girls watching the televised competition that are in the exact space she was in years ago — dreaming of a chance to perform on a platform like the one ‘American Idol’ provides and wondering what it will take to get there.

Years after she was in that place, Kaeyra knows exactly what has brought her to her present reality and hopefully, she says, into a future when she believes even bigger things are possible and when more dreams can become real life

“I just want to show that hard work really does pay off,” Kaeyra told Patch. “I’ve been doing this since I was 12 and so I’ve definitely been doing this for a while. I’ve had moments where this has really worked out and some really high moments in my life. But there is so much that I still want to do.

“I’m only here because I work hard, and I hope I can show people that you can really achieve whatever you want. I never, ever felt that I would be on this stage. But I’m doing it, and I’m proud of myself honestly because I just know how much it took to get to this moment in my life.”