Erika Van Pelt is a former American Idol contestant. She was eliminated from the top ten after an excellent cover of Billy Joel’s “New York State of Mind,” while other, much less deserving contestants advanced onward. One thing I noticed is that her look and voice reminded me of Lauren Talley. Both of them are blondes with deep, rich alto voices. (At least Van Pelt started blonde… she tried to cut it off and dye it black in order to stand out more. It didn’t work. But moving on…) Anyway, I’m pitting the two against each on this installment of Southern Gospel vs. the Rest of the World. First, here’s Erika singing “I Believe In You and Me”:
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