Leah Marlene describes what it’s like on American Idol as she heads into top 5

Leah Marlene has been a favorite on American Idol since her audition.

However, making it to the top 5 had a lot more to do with her singing than her likability.

The self-proclaimed weird girl gained a lot of fans early on because of her quirky personality. That could have gotten old and a “personality” can only get so far on a show like American Idol.

What has happened was that Leah has changed from that weird girl who got by thanks to her infectious personality to a singer that could compete with anyone based solely on her voice.

She is in the top 5 because Leah Marlene is a great singer.

Leah Marlene explains what American Idol is like

While she is still in the competition, Leah Marlene still did an interview and talked about what it’s like to be on American Idol.

Leah spoke to Parade.com about her appearance on the show and how what people see doesn’t always line up with reality.

“I still feel like we’re in Hollywood Week,” Leah told Parade.com. “I think we’re all in it together. It doesn’t feel the way it looks on TV. It just feels like we’re one family doing what we love with this incredible team around us.”

While American Idol shows these singers competing against each other and mostly kept apart outside of sitting close to each other when they are saved or waiting to sing, Leah said it is a lot more than that.

She said that all the singers have a huge opportunity to perform in front of a worldwide audience with the highest production value possible — possibly higher than some of them will ever have again. She said that it means that when they were in the room, they are cheering each other on.

“I think we’re all remarkably grateful, like no words for how grateful we are to be here,” Leah said. “And so, we’re all just taking in every moment because we don’t know when it’s going to end. And so, we’re just cherishing the experience together.”

Leah talks about how hard American Idol is to produce

She also told Parade.com that she never realized how much hard work goes into producing each episode — and this is even though she has watched American Idol for years. She pointed out there are several people behind the scenes that make the show look as well as it does.

“There are so many people behind the scenes that you don’t even realize, but they’re literally the reason that we’re growing the way that we are,” Lead continued. “They’re like our counselors and also mentoring us in our careers and in our choices on the show. I wish they could all just get up on stage and get all the credit in the world because they’re the ones really behind this show.”

She finished off by saying that they really are part of the American Idol family — from the top 5 to the singers already eliminated. They all have connections to the singers who came before and likely will have a connection with singers who come after them.

American Idol airs on Sunday nights at 8/7c on ABC.