Paris Bennett - American Idol

The 24 "American Idol" finalists won't be announced until tonight, but entertainment magazines are already calling 17-year-old Paris Bennett the favorite in the reality show competition.

"She would have to set a kitten on fire onstage not to make it to the final 12," said Entertainment Weekly's Michael Slezak, who writes a blog about the show for EW.com.

That's a sentiment echoed by the many Twin Citians who have worked with the former Edina High School student or seen her perform on local stages.

On the show, Bennett is identified as a Fayetteville, Ga., resident, because she has lived there with her grandmother since last year. But her gigantic voice is familiar to locals who have seen her in recent productions at Penumbra Theatre Company in St. Paul and Children's Theatre Company in Minneapolis.

Bennett, who as a sophomore starred in Edina High School's production of "The Wiz," comes from a musically gifted family. Her mother, Jamecia Bennett, and her grandmother, Ann Nesby, are past members of the Twin Cities-based Grammy-winning gospel group Sounds of Blackness.

"They are really something," said Penumbra founder and artistic director Lou Bellamy, who directed Paris and Jamecia in 2004's "Reflections of Black Nativity." "When (Paris) auditioned, it was clear that she was very special."

Bennett first showed national television audiences how special she was when her "American Idol" audition aired to more than 30 million viewers in late January. The tiny teen seemed to catch the trio of judges by surprise with her vocal power as she sang the Dixie Chicks' "Cowboy Take Me Away" and Billie Holiday's "Take Five."

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Paula Abdul called her performance "phenomenal." Cranky Simon Cowell called it "unbelievable" — and this time he meant it in a good way.

Locals who have worked with Bennett agree with the judges.

Edina High School theater adviser Tony Matthes remembers when Bennett tried out for "The Wiz."

"I had four senior girls going for the lead role of Dorothy, and they all had great auditions," Matthes said. "Then Paris got up there and hit a high C that was improvised. I could see the other girls step back, and then I saw the look of disappointment on their faces. A couple of them got on their cell phones to say, 'Mom, I'm not going to play Dorothy.' "

Christopher "Kit" Treece, who co-starred with Bennett in "The Wiz," said she was a hard worker.






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