Melissa McGhee

S5 · Eliminated 12th

Latest documented update, July 17, 2014

As of July 2014, Melissa McGhee was performing regularly at Enigma in St. Petersburg and writing toward an EP, after returning to Tampa stages the year before. Her cover of What About Love is the first track on American Idol Season 5: Encores, released May 23, 2006.⁠[1][2]

Career

After the show

  1. May 23, 2006Her cover of Heart's What About Love is track 1 on the various-artists compilation American Idol Season 5: Encores, released May 23, 2006, on RCA. The album is not a release under her name.⁠[2]
  2. 2013A July 17, 2014 report says she took time off after the show and re-emerged in Tampa the previous year, including a music festival in Kenwood. As of that report she was performing at Enigma in St. Petersburg, hosting a weekly singing contest, and writing toward an EP.⁠[1]

Date not documented

  1. Before American Idol she sang in pageants and traveled to Orlando and Nashville for showcases, she told a July 17, 2014 interview. The same interview says she auditioned for season two in Miami, did not advance, and then took a break from singing.⁠[1]

Discography

No releases are documented yet.

Awards

Checked October 7, 2026; none found.

Other activity

  • March 15, 2006In the season 5 top 12 week of March 15, she sang Stevie Wonder's Lately and was eliminated in 12th place. She was from Tampa and auditioned in Denver with Can't Fight the Moonlight.⁠[3]

Sources

4 sources

  1. Idol vet Melissa McGhee re-emerges in Tampa Bay's music scene — Watermark Out News, published July 17, 2014. News report. Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (7)
    • Article body, return to performing: “she took time off and re-emerged in Tampa's music scene last year”
    • Article body, current work: “She currently performs regularly at Enigma in downtown St. Petersburg”
    • Byline and return paragraph: “By Zach Caruso July 17, 2014”
    • Article body, Kenwood and Enigma: “she walked back onto a stage last year at a music festival in Kenwood”
    • Article body, writing plans: “I've been writing with the goal of producing an EP”
    • Article body, before Idol: “I spent a lot of my high school career going to Orlando, Nashville, places like that, doing showcases.”
    • Article body, season two audition: “She tried out for season two.”
  2. American Idol Season 5: Encores (Wikipedia revision 1368978083) — Wikipedia, updated August 12, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 7, 2026.
    Cited parts (4)
    • Infobox released and track listing: “released = May 23, 2006”
    • Infobox: “released = May 23, 2006”
    • Track listing, track 1: “What About Love”
    • Infobox label: “RCA Records”
  3. American Idol season 5 — Wikipedia, updated May 18, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (4)
    • Elimination chart row Melissa McGhee: Pl. 12, Eliminated in the Top 12 column (3/15); ratings table episode 'Top 12 Results', March 15, 2006
    • Top 12 Stevie Wonder table, Melissa McGhee row: “Lately”
    • Finalists introduction: “Melissa McGhee was from Tampa, Florida, but she auditioned in Denver”
    • Elimination chart, Melissa McGhee row: “12”
  4. List of American Idol finalists — Wikipedia, updated June 10, 2026. Reference work (secondary). Retrieved October 6, 2026.
    Cited parts (1)
    • Contestants table, row Melissa McGhee: season 5, place finish 12th

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