#55 Stephanie Edwards

Next on my American Idol finalist countdown is my number 55 American Idol finalist Stephanie Edwards. She landed in 11th place on American Idol season 6. She hails from Savannah, Georgia, and first began singing around the age of two or three. After graduating from Windsor Forest High School, which was founded in 1967 and is a member of Savannah-Chatham County Public Schools district, Edwards pursued vocal instruction for a month and then went on to appear at the Apollo Theatre in New York City when she competed in Showtime at the Apollo, which originally ran from September 12, 1987 to May 24, 2008 with 1093 episodes. Before her stint on American Idol, she had won most singing contests she had entered, including Savannah Star in 2005.

Edwards auditioned for American Idol season 6 in Memphis, Tennessee. She is the only one of the top 12 contestants on American Idol not presented in the TV tryouts preceding the naming of the top 24 semi-finalists. During the initial broadcast for the Top 24, Edwards was praised for her rendition of "How Come U Don't Call Me Anymore" by Prince. For her top 20 week performance, she attempted "Dangerously in Love" by Beyoncé Knowles, to which Randy Jackson exclaimed that she "sang her face off," although he felt her performance was too much like the original. The following week, Edwards pulled off another winning performance with the song "Sweet Thing" by Chaka Khan.
 According to the judges, she was "darn near flawless and had a good command of the stage."

On March 8, 2007, Edwards became one of the top 12 finalists. For the first theme week, she performed "Hangover" by Diana Ross. Edwards forgot her words at one point during the song. The judges bashed her arrangement of the song, saying that she teased them with the good part and then never delivered. Despite the criticism, Edwards claimed a spot in the top 11. She was eliminated from the show on March 21, 2007. She missed out on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007 along with Brandon Rogers.