Jan 17, 2010 / 17:10 pm
Maddy Curtis, a sixteen-year-old from a Virginia family of twelve, is one of the contestants advancing in the American Idol singing contest. Curtis, the ninth child in the family, has an older brother and three adopted brothers with Down’s syndrome.
Speaking on a segment of American Idol, Maddy said being ninth of twelve kids was “a crazy experience, but it’s awesome.”
Describing her disabled brothers, she said “Those four boys bring out the best in every person they meet. They see the world in colors, and we need to see the world that way.”
At the American Idol try-outs in Boston in June 2009, a mildly nervous Maddy delivered a strong performance of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.”
Contest judge Randy Jackson said of her performance: “I didn’t think it would be that good… but actually I really liked it!”