To meet Melinda Marie Doolittle on the street, one would never suspect the “American Idol” Season Six second runner-up was a performer and could never fathom that she could command a stage with saucy, assertive licks like Bon Jovi’s “Have a Nice Day” or Peggy Lee’s “I’m a Woman.”

Born October 6, 1977 in St. Louis, Mo., to parents Steve and Marguerite Duke Doolittle, the microphone is a wand that transforms the sturdily built Brentwood, Tenn. resident from mild to wild.

The unanimous front runner by all three show panelists and many fans, the “American Idol” 2007 contestant started at the rear of the pack - as a backup singer.

Singing since the seventh grade, the vocal power pack later performed in musical theater and was voted Union High’s Most Talented and Most Spirited at School.

Doolittle, a 1995 graduate of Union High School in Tulsa, Okla, briefly attended the University of Tulsa before completing a four-year degree in Commercial Music at Belmont University in Nashville.

Prior to her appearance on “American Idol,” Doolittle worked as a professional back-up singer for a host of industry notables including Michael McDonald, Kirk Franklin, Aaron Neville, BeBe and CeCe Winans, Alabama, Vanessa Bell Armstrong, and the group Anointed.

Doolittle’s sixth season appearance was foreshadowed by a cameo backup role for “American Idol” Season Three finalist George Huff’s 2004 holiday CD “George Huff Christmas.” Personal friend and Season Five competitor Mandisa Hundley helped nudge her toward the reality show and a lead singer role.

A devout Christian, Doolittle is a member of Music for the Soul, a nonprofit organization ministering through music.

On Nov. 3, 2007, Doolittle was interviewed for CNN’s “Young People Who Rock” series, where she stated support for the Malaria No More campaign and how donating bed nets can help to eradicate malaria from the African continent. She specifically mentioned supportive fans who made bed net donations at each of the 59 “American Idol” tour venues and who also made a large donation on her birthday.

A self-proclaimed “neat freak,” Doolittle admitted to suffering from borderline obsessive-compulsive disorder.

As part of a pre-performance “American Idol” personal vignette, Doolittle admitted that “I don’t step on the cracks on the sidewalk. It gives me bad luck.”

Doolittle will be joining Michael W. Smith on his upcoming Christmas tour and is currently in the studio working on a debut album, scheduled to released in June.

Her first single, “My Funny Valentine” is available (as of Feb. 12) through iTunes and Amazon MP3 Downloads. Sony BMG is the publisher.

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