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When the season-13 American Idol summer tour came to an end, top five finalist Jessica Meuse returned home to Slapout, Alabama, population just over 4,000. While it was a welcome return to the place where she had lived for many years, it took time to adjust to small town life after spending a few months living in the glamorous environs of Hollywood and touring the country. Now, six months later, Meuse is coming back to Southern California for her first-ever live gig in Los Angeles.
Meuse will perform in the newly-remodeled The E. Spot Lounge at Vitello’s in Studio City for the second in a series of Saturday brunches with Idol alums. The noon performance on Saturday, Feb. 14 will include an on-stage interview with The Hollywood Reporter’s Fred Bronson.
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Meuse told THR she is “ecstatic” about returning to L.A. “I love Los Angeles and the people in it,” she declared. “I’m thankful I have this opportunity and that I get to perform outside of my region, especially when the place where I’m performing is like a second home.”
The singer, who sports a streak of magenta in her hair, has not been idle since completing her season of Idol. “I’ve been performing, writing and keeping the creative energy going,” she says. “I’ve played a range of shows from Alabama to Georgia and I’m booking several festivals for the summer. I’m staying as busy as possible, while working on new material and finding management.”
Meuse made an immediate impression during her Idol audtion when she sang an original song, “Blue-Eyed Lie.” Will she be performing that composition at Vitello’s? “Of course you’ll hear ‘Blue-Eyed Lie’ and a few tunes I performed during my run on Idol,” she tells THR. “I’m going to rock it out! Prior to American Idol, I was highly experienced in the bar scene – setting up equipment and prepping for the show. Sometimes I played to one person. There were also times I’d have an epic crowd, so I take the experience from both situations and try to maintain a laid-back, conversational tone to my performances. I like to see who I am playing to and make those important connections with individuals in the audience, whether it’s a single person, or hundreds or thousands.”
This Valentine’s Day visit to the west coast may be a harbinger of things to come. “I’ve been thinking about moving to Los Angeles ever since I was on the show,” Meuse reveals. I want my music and myself as a person to flourish and grow. I’ll be visiting L.A. several times in the near future but I do ultimately plan to move there.”
The E. Spot Lounge is the new name for Vitello’s upstairs supper club. The “E” is for Grammy and Emmy-nominated recording artist Sheila E., who is teaming up with the owners of Vitello’s and taking over the entertainment aspects of the restaurant. Meuse will be one of the first performers booked into the remodeled club.
Reservations for Meuse’s brunch performance may be made online by going to http://tiny.cc/JMbrunch. Vitello’s is located at 4349 Tujunga Ave., Studio City, Calif. 91604. More information is available at (818) 769-0905.
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