Meet the New Albany funeral director appearing this weekend on 'American Idol'

Stepping onto the iconic set of the new season of "American Idol" was a surreal experience for a 23-year-old mortician from New Albany, Indiana.

Kennedy Reid, whose day job is as an embalmer in a Louisville funeral home, told the Courier Journal she's been dying for an opportunity like "American Idol" but never thought it would happen.

"I feel like I am dreaming," she said. "I am still in shock."

A friend of a friend sent Reid's demo tape to the iconic televised music competition and she still can't believe she was asked to audition for the show's judges, Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie.

"I auditioned in Los Angeles and sang Tina Turner's 'River Deep Mountain High,'" Reid said. "It was very exciting but also very nerve-racking because here I was standing 20 feet away from three legendary singer-songwriters.

Her journey to the "American Idol" stage is a bit of a fairytale. Reid grew up in Sellersberg, Indiana, and attended Silver Creek High School. After high school, she attended a mortuary college to become a funeral director and embalmer. She started singing in public as a teenager for residents in nursing homes and eventually became a regular performer and emcee at the Grand Ole Country Music Show in West Point, Kentucky.

This weekend, Reid will introduce her killer voice to a national audience on the premiere of "American Idol's" seventh season on ABC on Sunday starting at 8 p.m. If you are in the neighborhood, Reid is hosting a watch party for family, friends, and the public at Hunter Station Pizza, 210 Hunter Station Road, Sellersburg, Indiana.

"As much as I love being a mortician, I have dreamed about being a performer since I was a little girl," Reid told the Courier Journal. "I remember watching so many amazing singers on previous seasons of 'American Idol' and I always thought that could never be me, but here I am, and it's very exciting."

Reach features reporter Kirby Adams at kadams@courier-journal.com.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: New Albany mortician Kennedy Reid 'American Idol' audition