Singer's focus is 'home' tonight
By Phyllis Moore
Published in News on March 5, 2014 1:46 PM
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Majesty Rose
"American Idol" contestant Majesty Rose has done remarkably well adjusting to being on a national talent show and all that entails -- wardrobe fittings, rehearsals and a frenetic schedule as part of the Top 12.
But that doesn't mean thoughts of her Goldsboro hometown don't trickle in, especially as tonight's performance time approaches.
"The theme this week is 'Home,'" she said Monday. "I'm thinking about Sandra Chapel, Carla Chapel. They're my foundation."
Contestants are not allowed to reveal their song choice in advance of the show's airing, but that didn't stop Majesty Rose from sharing the thought process in its selection.
"I'm excited about my performance this week," she said. "The theme 'home,' I was really thinking about the Chapels a lot when I picked the song and I really want to make people feel a lot that I'm honest and real.
"I definitely just miss the constant encouragement I get from Miss Sandra because she really does help me focus. Fortunately, I'm busy so I don't have a lot of time to talk on the phone so I really am having to be my own person."
Carla, 19, her best friend for the past six years, flew out to Los Angeles last week and could be seen in the audience during Majesty's performance.
"It's much easier because I can talk to her," Majesty Rose said of her friend's arrival and decision to stay with friends in California in support of the contestant.
Having Carla out there helps "normalize things," says Carla's mother, Sandra Chapel, who also has three sons with husband, Duane.
"I will, Lord willing, be traveling out there sometime," Mrs. Chapel said. "That's my plan. We have already talked about going out there."
Majesty Rose has lived with the Chapels for a little more than two years.
"She lives with us as part of our family. They're like sisters," Mrs. Chapel said of the two girls. "She is just precious to me. I just feel like she's added so much to each of our lives, and what a gift she's been to this family."
It was during a Chapel family vacation to Disney World that the whole "Golden Ticket" adventure began, when they discovered the "American Idol Experience" and encouraged Majesty Rose to audition. She did, which resulted in her winning the chance to advance in the audition process.
Majesty Rose said at the outset that she prayerfully considered the opportunity before pursuing it.
"I just wanted to know that she was mature enough," Mrs. Chapel said of the 22-year-old. "She's prepared. I really feel that she is prepared and she is processing it in a very healthy way and she's keeping a good perspective on things.
"I think that she's looking at this from a good perspective. Not 'I want to be famous' but what opportunities will it give me to serve the world and do something that she loves. She loves to sing and she loves to serve people."
Mrs. Chapel has enjoyed watching Majesty Rose do well in the competition, although she admits to a few jitters before the performances.
"I'm nervous inside even though I know she's going to do well," she said Tuesday afternoon. "Win or lose, if she feels that she's done her best, I feel like she will have peace.
Mrs. Chapel said she feels Majesty Rose has been portrayed well on the reality show.
"I love her interviews, because it's her and it makes me feel like she's right across from me, talking to her," she said.
The fledgling singer might not get to witness firsthand all the hoopla going on in her hometown right now, but she is hearing about the viewing parties and the marquees bearing her name around the county.
"I'm grateful, that I really did make a mark in Goldsboro before I left, had close relationships with people," she said, asking to convey an earlier message to her community. "I'm not doing this to be the most famous or anything like that. I really just wanted a platform to do this."
Wayne Community College's first event, "American Idol Majesty Mania," will feature a pep rally in the Wayne Learning Center Atrium at 7:30 p.m., followed by the show being broadcast from 8-10 p.m. in Moffatt Auditorium.
The public is invited to attend, with the first 50 people to arrive receiving a Majesty Rose face fan. Attendees are encouraged to bring posters or make their own at a "creation station" during the rally, and wear big flowers, especially roses, an homage to the local contestant's penchant for the hair accessory. The college will also live stream video of the pep rally and interviews with audience members on its website, www.waynecc.edu.
The city of Goldsboro will continue its weekly viewing parties during Thursday evening's results show, from 7:30-9 p.m. in the second floor multi-purpose room of the Goldsboro Family YMCA.