Just get out and sing: Local performer finds success after ‘American Idol’ audition

Punk rocker Mary Powers is proof there’s life after “American Idol.”

The Burbank resident was part of the show’s Hollywood Week audition in February where she vied with about 200 other semi-finalists trying to make the final cut for the TV show’s top 24 contestants. She finished in the top 50, putting in performances of Pat Benatar’s “Love is a Battlefield” and “Sober” by Pink.

“There are cameras on you every moment of your life. And you have to be ‘on’ and kind of forget about those cameras,” she said. “But it was really a good thing for me to be on ‘American Idol’ because I have fans now all over the world.”

Fellow contestant Alex Nester got to know Powers as their rehearsal times were close together. Powers had spunk and was passionate about her performance, Nester said.

“I thought she made it for sure, honestly,” she said. “She is an unbelievable talent and is so incredibly passionate about what she does. She is a true artist in every right.”

Powers said people continue to contact her by e-mail and Facebook asking for autographed pictures. And she gets mobbed by teenagers when she goes to public places like CityWalk, she said.

“I love it — that’s what I’m doing it for, to sing and be out there,” she said. “It’s so funny to go from this little singer in Burbank trying to make it and go to so many people who know who I am.”

Since the Idol auditions, Powers has appeared on “The Brian McKnight Show” and has a single on iTunes titled “This Is How I Dream.” She will be signing autographs at Backside records in Burbank from 2 to 4 p.m. May 29 and will perform later that night at the Viper Room in Hollywood.

“I’m looking forward to working the Viper Room. It’s pretty famous. It’s a great place to put on a rock show,” she said.

And she promises no one will have a chance to get bored.

“I’m not a stand-and-sing performer — I’m all over the stage and I perform my songs,” she said. “It will be a real event.”

The performance will include several original songs, including “Blackened Pearl,” a collaboration with Skip Saylor, himself known for his work on Guns and Roses’ “Use Your Illusion.”

Powers wants to make music her career, she said.

“My ultimate goal is to make money doing what I love, and that’s singing and performing for people, and to raise my daughter in a creative environment and to inspire others to follow their dreams and create things — writing, drawing — whatever they do.”