Arkansan goes to Hollywood on American Idol

HARDY, AR - Arkansan Lauren Gray made it to Hollywood on American Idol. FOX16's Kelly Dudzik went to Hardy, Arkansas to meet Lauren’s parents and found out Lauren started singing before she could talk.
The Pocahontas native moved to Hardy -- a town of about 600 in Sharp County -- with her parents in 2007.

"She was singing before she could talk. She was ‘lalalalala,’ and then that's her nickname. LA, LA,” Lauren 's mom, Debbie Gray, said. “That's what we call her."

Now. Lauren is in LA.

We called her from her parents' bridal boutique in Hardy to find out how Hollywood’s treating her so far.

Lauren said she felt right at home in Hollywood.

“I didn't feel like I was looking people that were millionaires, billionaires, and on TV. You just feel like they're just your friends," she said.

But she does get just a little homesick.

"It's hard. It's definitely hard,” she says. “Sometimes I do have hard moments being away from home.

"At nighttime when it's time to go to bed, I start missing all my family. That's when it gets hard."

Lauren 's dad Mike has recorded several albums. She got her professional start singing back-up for him.

The Grays built a dinner theater just so Lauren would have her own venue.

"This is over at Creekside Loft,” Debbie says. “She's got her dad and Tony Spinner and her Uncle Tommy Gray there, that's her family.
"She was carrying a microphone and a guitar before she could walk."
But before heading to Hollywood, Lauren never had a single voice lesson.

"It was kind of a long shot for me to do this,” Lauren says. “I'm not a competitive person. I'm from a small town, you know, never really been out in the big world by myself, and I just took a shot, and it just blows my mind how far I've come so far. It's amazing. I'm very privileged."
Now Lauren hopes to make Arkansas proud on this season of American Idol.