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<\/p>\n“I have no regrets at all”\ufeff: Lake Geneva native, Genevieve Heyward, talks life after “American Idol”<\/p>\n
After making it to Season 24’s Top 20, Genevieve Heyward is planning several shows across state and CMA Fest in Nashville.<\/p>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tABSOLUTELY. WE CAN FOLLOW. YOU. OKAY. >> A WISCONSIN WOMAN NOW BOOKED AND BUSY AFTER COMPETING ON SEASON 24 OF AMERICAN IDOL. >> HOPE YOU DON\u2019T MIND. I HOPE YOU DON\u2019T MIND THAT I PUT DOWN ONE. >> SING IT. >> I WISH YOU AT HOME. COULD SEE GENEVIEVE HEYWARD WATCHING GENEVIEVE HEYWARD COMPETE ON AMERICAN IDOL. SHE MADE IT FROM LAKE GENEVA TO THE TOP 20 HERE THIS SEASON, AND WE SPOKE TO HER VIRTUALLY EVERY WEEK ON 12 NEWS AT FOUR DURING HER RUN ON IDOL. AND TODAY WE HAVE THE PLEASURE OF HAVING GENEVIEVE HEYWARD JOIN US IN STUDIO WHILE SHE\u2019S IN TOWN FOR SEVERAL GIGS ACROSS THE STATE. ONE THANKS FOR BEING HERE. YES. TWO HOW HAVE YOU BEEN? >> I\u2019VE BEEN DOING I\u2019VE BEEN DOING PRETTY GOOD. YEAH, YEAH, I\u2019VE BEEN FEELING PRETTY GOOD. I\u2019VE BEEN ENJOYING BEING OFF THE SHOW PROBABLY AS MUCH AS I ENJOYED BEING ON THE SHOW. YEAH, AND TAKING A SECOND TO GET BACK TO REAL LIFE. AND I ACTUALLY DIDN\u2019T SING FOR A SECOND AFTER I GOT OFF THE SHOW. >> I WAS GOING TO SAY, WHAT WAS THAT TRANSITION LIKE, LEAVING THE SHOW AND THEN UP TO WHERE WE ARE TODAY? >> YEAH, IT WAS KIND OF IT WAS A LITTLE WONKY. YOU KNOW, IT IS A BIG ADJUSTMENT BECAUSE IT IS REALLY CONSUMING THE SHOWS, VERY CONSUMING FOR THE FEW MONTHS THAT YOU\u2019RE ON IT. BUT IT IS A BLIP. SO IT\u2019S REAL QUICK, YOU KNOW, IT\u2019S OVER REALLY QUICK. ONE DAY YOU WAKE UP AND YOU\u2019RE JUST NOT ON THE SHOW ANYMORE AND YOU\u2019RE LIKE, WHOA, OKAY, WHAT DID I DO BEFORE I WAS ON AMERICAN IDOL? SO YEAH, IT WAS QUITE AN ADJUSTMENT. I HAD TO TAKE A BREAK FROM SINGING FOR LIKE JUST A LITTLE BIT BECAUSE I WAS LIKE, OKAY, NOW I\u2019M DISCOVERING LIKE, OKAY, I LOVE SINGING. IT\u2019S NOT ALWAYS A JOB. IT\u2019S SOMETHING I ENJOY DOING. >> SO HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE OVERALL YOUR IDOL EXPERIENCE? >> I HAD A GREAT TIME ON THE SHOW. I ABSOLUTELY LOVED. I HAVE VERY, VERY FEW NEGATIVE THINGS TOWARDS IDOL. I MEAN, MY ONLY NEGATIVE THING IS MEAN PEOPLE ON THE INTERNET. SO BESIDES THAT, YES, THE ACTUAL EXPERIENCE ON THE SHOW WAS AMAZING. THE PEOPLE THAT WORK ON THE SHOW ARE AMAZING. GETTING CLOSE TO THE CONTESTANTS. IT\u2019S TOTALLY A FAMILY VIBE, ESPECIALLY ONCE WE ALL GOT TO LA AND IT WAS NO, IT WAS SO GREAT. I\u2019M. I HAVE NO REGRETS AT ALL. >> AND YOU KEEP IN TOUCH WITH YOUR FELLOW CONTESTANTS AS WELL? >> YEAH, YEAH. >> WHAT ARE THOSE CONVERSATIONS LIKE? >> YEAH, IT\u2019S ALWAYS LIKE, HOW YOU DOING? AND IT\u2019S LIKE, I\u2019M GOOD. HOW YOU DOING? YOU KNOW, IT\u2019S LIKE, IS LIFE IS WEIRD FOR YOU AS IT IS FOR ME, RIGHT? YEAH. >> AND AUDITIONS ARE GOING TO BE TAKING PLACE FOR THE NEXT SEASON COMING UP SOON. ANY ADVICE FOR ANYONE WATCHING AT HOME ON WHAT THEY SHOULD PREPARE FOR OR HOW THEY SHOULD PREPARE FOR AN IDOL AUDITION? >> YEAH. OH MY GOSH. IF ANYONE AT HOME IS WATCHING AND HAS EVER THOUGHT ABOUT DOING AMERICAN IDOL, THE ONE THING I WOULD SAY DO NOT TRY TO PRETEND TO BE SOMEONE ELSE. GO IN AS YOURSELF. BECAUSE THAT WAS THE ONE THING I FEEL LIKE I REALLY OBSERVED IS LIKE THE PEOPLE THAT MADE IT FURTHER WERE TYPICALLY THE ONES THAT WERE JUST KIND OF THEMSELVES NATURAL FOR WHAT THEY WANT. BECAUSE YOU SEE A LOT OF PEOPLE REALLY FORCING LIKE A PERSONA AND IDENTITY. SO GOING INTO IT, BEING YOURSELF AND JUST KNOW IT IS VERY TERRIFYING AND SCARY TO BE ON TELEVISION, YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, SO YEAH, JUST BE YOURSELF. I KNOW IT\u2019S CLICHE, BUT THAT\u2019S FOR REAL. >> AND I KNOW YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TREAT FOR OUR VIEWERS AT HOME. YOU WANTED TO PLAY A SONG THAT YOU\u2019RE GOING TO BE RELEASING SOON. FIRST, TELL US WHAT THE TITLE IS AND THEN WE\u2019LL LET YOU PLAY. >> YEAH. SO I\u2019M GOING TO PLAY A SONG CALLED WEAK THAT I WROTE WITH ONE OF MY BESTEST FRIENDS. HER NAME IS SOPHIA. SHE WAS ACTUALLY ON THE VOICE. SHE\u2019S FROM AMSTERDAM, SO THIS IS A SONG WE WROTE TOGETHER. I JUST LOVE PLAYING IT. >> ALL RIGHT, HERE\u2019S GENEVIEVE HAYWOOD. >> OKAY, I\u2019M GOING TO STAND UP HERE. >> WHATEVER HAPPENED TO DANCING AND HOLDING THE DOOR? WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SCRIBBLING HEARTS ON THE FLOOR? MAYBE YOU\u2019RE BORED. MAYBE I\u2019M WANTING MORE. MY ROOMMATES IN A TERROR WHEN I THOUGHT THAT I WOULD GIVE IT A TRY. I\u2019M RUNNING OUT OF WAYS TO FIGURE OUT IF I\u2019M ON YOUR MIND. YOU\u2019RE ROCKING MY WORLD IN I, YOUR GIRL. I COULD DIE FROM JUST THE THOUGHT OF YOUR HAND OVER MY MOUTH. REACH THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE. THAT LEAVES ME CRASHING OUT. YOU\u2019RE PULLING MY HAIR. YOU GOT WHAT I WANT. BABY. ARE YOU AWARE THAT IT\u2019S GETTING ME OFF? I DON\u2019T BELIEVE WHAT YOU\u2019RE DOING TO ME. BUT IT\u2019S MAKING ME WEAK. OH, IT\u2019S MAKING ME WEAK. EATING UP THE HONEY FROM THE MONEY YOU LEFT IN MY CAR. I DON\u2019T KNOW WHAT IT MEANS. BUT I KNOW THAT IT\u2019S BREAKING YOUR HEART. NO MATTER THE SIZE. I\u2019M GONNA CROSS THE LINE. I COULD DIE FROM. JUST THE THOUGHT OF YOUR HAND OVER MY MOUTH. REACH THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE. THAT LEAVES ME CRASHING OUT. YOU\u2019RE PULLING MY HAIR. YOU GOT WHAT I WANT, BABY. ARE YOU AWARE THAT IT\u2019S GETTING ME OFF? I DON\u2019T BELIEVE WHAT YOU\u2019RE DOING TO ME. BUT IT\u2019S MAKING ME WEAK. OH, IT\u2019S MAKING ME WEAK. OH, >> WHAT\u2019S MAKING ME. OH, IT\u2019S MAKING ME WEAK. WHATEVER HAPPENED TO DANCING AND HOLDING THE DOOR? WHATEVER HAPPENED TO SCRIBBLING HEARTS ON THE FLOOR? MAYBE YOU\u2019RE BOTH. MAYBE I\u2019M WANTING MORE. WE. I COULD DIE FROM JUST THE THOUGHT OF YOUR HAND OVER MY MOUTH. READ THE BOTTOM OF THE BOTTLE. >> THAT LEAVES ME CRASHING OUT. >> YOU\u2019RE PULLING MY HAIR. YOU GOT WHAT I WANT. BABY, ARE YOU AWARE THAT IT\u2019S GETTING ME UP? OH. WE. >> ABSOLUTELY WONDERFUL. THANK YOU. GENEVIEVE. WHAT IS NEXT FOR YOU? >> YEAH, I GOT SOME SHOWS COMING UP, SO AFTER THIS, I HAVE TO HEAD HOME TO NASHVILLE AND DOING CMAS. AND THEN I\u2019M PLAYING THE LAKE COUNTY HOUSE CONCERT IN HEARTLAND. I GOT MY BIG HOMETOWN SHOW IN LAKE GENEVA ON THE 13TH, AND THEN THE HIGH NOON SALOON IN MADISON, WISCONSIN ON THE 14TH. ALWAYS GO DISCO SHOWS. >> ALL RIGHT. YOUR AMERICAN IDOL HERE IN WISCONSIN. GENEVIEVE, THANK YOU SO MUC\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
“I have no regrets at all”\ufeff: Lake Geneva native, Genevieve Heyward, talks life after “American Idol”<\/p>\n
After making it to Season 24’s Top 20, Genevieve Heyward is planning several shows across state and CMA Fest in Nashville.<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\tUpdated: 6:16 PM CDT May 25, 2026\n\t\t<\/p>\n
\t\tEditorial Standards \u24d8<\/a><\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\tGenevieve Heyward is booked and busy after competing on the 24th season of ABCs “American Idol.”After making it to the Top 20, the Lake Geneva native is planning several shows across Wisconsin this summer and will join some of her fellow contestants to kickoff CMA Fest in Nashville in July.Heyward joined 12 News at 4:00 to discuss her life after the hit singing competition show. She called it an adjustment going back to normal life after leaving Hollywood. “I actually didn’t sing for a second,” Heyward said. “It was a little wonky, you know. It is a big adjustment because it’s really consuming. They show’s very consuming for the few months that you’re on it, but it is a blip. So it’s real quick, you know, it’s over really quick. One day you wake up and you’re just not on the show anymore.”The Badger High School alum also shared that she does still keep in touch with some other former contestants.With auditions for Season 25 open now, Heyward also shared some advice for anyone who may be considering their own shot at becoming the next American Idol.”Do not try to pretend to be someone else. Go in as yourself,” Heyward said. The indie-pop singer-songwriter revealed she will be releasing a new original song, called “Weak.”Heyward also has a few stops planned next month, including in Hartland, Madison and a hometown performance in Lake Geneva. You can get tickets to those shows here.\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tLAKE GENEVA, Wis. \u2014 \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n Genevieve Heyward is booked and busy after competing on the 24th season of ABCs “American Idol.”<\/p>\n After making it to the Top 20, the Lake Geneva native is planning several shows across Wisconsin this summer and will join some of her fellow contestants to kickoff CMA Fest in Nashville in July.<\/p>\n Heyward joined 12 News at 4:00 to discuss her life after the hit singing competition show. She called it an adjustment going back to normal life after leaving Hollywood. <\/p>\n “I actually didn’t sing for a second,” Heyward said. “It was a little wonky, you know. It is a big adjustment because it’s really consuming. They show’s very consuming for the few months that you’re on it, but it is a blip. So it’s real quick, you know, it’s over really quick. One day you wake up and you’re just not on the show anymore.”<\/p>\n The Badger High School alum also shared that she does still keep in touch with some other former contestants.<\/p>\n