Tampa’s Janell Wheeler goes to Hollywood on ‘American Idol’

Posted Jan 21, 2010 by Walt Belcher

Updated Jan 21, 2010 at 01:02 PM

She got maybe 45 seconds of face time on “American Idol” Wednesday night, so viewers didn’t see much of Janell Wheeler, a young singer from South Tampa who got a golden ticket to Hollywood.

She was one of 31 people who were passed through during the Orlando auditions this summer. Once again, “American Idol” gave viewers the false impression that the auditions took place in August and that the judges saw most of the contestants. “Idol” is a fraud when it comes to how these auditions are staged.

Anyway, Wheeler was briefly—very briefly—interviewed by WTVT’s Charley Belcher (but he didn’t get much from her). She sang “House of the Rising Sun.” Other contestants from the Tampa area got more face time including Seth Rollins, a 29-year-old insurance adjuster from Lakeland.

In the real world, the Hollywood auditions are over and many of those happy singers from last night are already out of the running. But in “Idol” time, the winners of the Hollywood rounds won’t be announced for a couple of weeks.

However, there are rumors that Wheeler made it into the top 24 finalists. There are also reports buzzing around the Internet that she has dated University of Florida football hero Tim Tebow. Oh, my.

Wheeler grew up in Apopka and was a cheerleader at Apopka High School. She won first place in an Orlando’s Got Talent Contest.

There are also unconfirmed reports that a St. Petersburg native and professional singer named Michael Lynche is among the 24 finalists.