Avalon Applauds

CONGRATULATIONS to Alanis Sophia, a 19-year-old Dade City teenager and graduate of Pasco eSchool, for being applauded by Avalon Park Wesley Chapel.

Sophia recently competed on ABC’s hit television show, “American Idol.”

Sophia’s first audition premiered on Feb. 28, when she performed a rendition of “Anyone” by Demi Lovato, in which she secured a golden ticket to advance to the next round of the competition series. Her audition has an outstanding 1.5 million views on YouTube.

The opportunity has been a “dream that came to life,” Sophia said in a recent phone interview with The Laker/Lutz News. “Ever since I was little, I always wanted to be in the show.”

Sophia ended up making it all the way to Top 16 — an impressive accomplishment very few can achieve. While recently eliminated from the competition, Sophia is still keeping up with the huge momentum the show gave her.

Her Facebook page boasts 385,000 followers, while her Instagram page sits at over 108,000 followers.

She’s taken advantage of the time to record videos on YouTube, to join TikTok, to do more songwriting and to record covers.

Sophia plans to continue to release her own music, which she hopes will connect with people to “change their lives or make them escape from any type of situation that they’re in, just for a couple of minutes.”

Sophia was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, but moved with her family to Wesley Chapel around age 5, and then to Dade City a few years after that. She still lives in her childhood home in the quaint East Pasco town with her parents and three siblings, and three dogs.

She leans heavily on her parents, Carlos and Katherine, for advice and comfort.

“They’re my support system,” said Sophia, “Anything to make my dreams come true — they would do that.”

Between working part-time and studying media communications at Full Sail University, the self-described homebody mainly spends the days fine-tuning her craft.

She aims to write at least one song every day, to keep her writing skills up to date.

She practices singing and dancing choreography in her bedroom, and records covers and other content to post to her social media pages. She also is learning to play guitar and piano.

Sophia recently thanked her fans on Instagram for their immense support during her American Idol journey.

“You guys are so incredibly kind and I truly appreciate each and every one of you,” said Sophia.

She also thanked American Idol for the experience.

“I have made so many connections and built such amazing new friendships, all because of you,” she said, “I have learned so much and grown, not only as an artist but on a personal level, as well.”

To stay up-to-date with Sophia’s musical journey, follow her on Facebook and Instagram at @alanissophia.