Gastonia native to take American Idol stage

During the pandemic, Gastonia native and preschool teacher Bethany Teague took a chance on herself and started posting videos to TikTok.

“For a long time, I had this really bad insecurity about myself that I wasn’t like what people wanted to see, I didn’t look the way that society pictured me as an artist, or I wasn’t skinny enough, or I wasn’t this, and I always picked myself apart. And one day during COVID, I was like, I’m so tired of staying in my house. I have nobody to talk to,” Teague said.

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Since then, she has gained quite a following. And that following is expected to grow as she takes the stage in front of the judges of American Idol.

Teague was raised by her grandmother, and she said her family is one of the main reasons why she is pursuing this goal, especially after the death of her mother in 2017.

“My grandma always tells me that she prayed for a child who could sing,” Teague explained. “It became like a goal, a career goal. I’m going to do this because she wanted to see me do this. And my family wants to see me do this. So I’m going to do it for, not just them, but for myself.”

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