Memphis songstress Alexis Grace made her national debut on season eight of American Idol, the long-running reality pop stardom series, where Simon Cowell called her the "dark horse of the competition." But long before – and long since – she's been a stalwart ambassador of the "Memphis School" of music. As the daughter of a Beale Street R&B musician, she grew up with the music of Aretha Franklin and Ann Peebles on heavy rotation. Youth choir at church locked in her gospel harmonies; and with formal jazz and opera training from Overton High School – a prestigious performing arts magnet – and the Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music at the University of Memphis, there’s no doubt why the readers of The Memphis Flyer named her the “Best Local Singer of 2023”.