Ottawa’s Alanis Morissette brought an American Idol contestant and her mom to tears on Thursday with one simple tweet.
“Sweet @alanissophia sending you so much love,” the 46-year-old singer shared.
Alanis Sophia replied: “I LOVE YOU IM SHAKING … MY MOM AND I ARE CRYING I LOVE YOU SO MUCH.”
Sophia – whose full name is Alanis Sophia Gonzalez Sanchez – was featured on this past Sunday’s episode of American Idol, where she auditioned for the celebrity judges with a cover of Demi Lovato’s “Anyone.”
The 19-year-old, who was born in Puerto Rico but moved to Florida when she was five years old, explained how she ended up sharing her first name with the Canadian singer.
“My mom is one of the diehard fans,” Sophia said. “She was going through a really rough time when she had me because she was 19 … and Alanis Morissette pretty much saved her, so she named me after her.”
Sophia’s mother Katherine Sanchez – who performed in a band when she was younger – told the Idol judges: “My favourite singer is Alanis Morissette and my dream was to one day meet her. Then I got Alanis very young ... so I said I’m going to name her Alanis because I know she’s going to go far in life like Alanis Morissette.”
Judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan were impressed with what they heard and voted her through to the next round of competition.
Sophia, though, is no newcomer to the music industry.
In 2013, as Alanis Gonzalez, she was runner-up on Season 1 of La Voz Kids, the Spanish-language version of The Voice Kids, where she turned coach Paulina Rubio’s chair with Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.”
Sophia later released an EP produced by José Luis Pagan (Jennifer Lopez, Chayanne) that had three covers and an original.
In late 2017, she was scouted by Big Machine Label Group, which signed her to a deal in 2018. She co-wrote and recorded more than 100 songs before being dropped.
Watch Alanis Sophia audition on American Idol: