# Felicia Barton

Felicia Diana Barton (born March 6, 1982) is an American singer and songwriter, best known for her appearance on the eighth season of American Idol in 2009. Since 2013, she has joined Warner-Chappell Music and Pulse Recording as a songwriter, and has co-written songs for Demi Lovato, Seohyun, Jena Irene Asciutto, and Lea Michele.
Since its 2018 revival on ABC, Barton has been employed as one of the background vocalists on American Idol. She has been singing with the band for the past seven seasons, including 2020's virtual season throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

## Career
### American Idol

Barton auditioned for the eighth season of American Idol in Louisville, Kentucky. In the final round of Hollywood, Barton was eliminated by the judges. The day after the episode containing her elimination, it was announced that semi-finalist Joanna Pacitti had been disqualified, and that Barton would replace her in the Top 36. Barton performed in the third semi-finalist group, and received positive response for her performance from both the judges and commentators on the Internet. The next night, it was announced that she did not advance to the finals.

#### Performances/Results

| Week | Theme | Song choice | Original artist | Order # | Result |
| Audition | Auditioner's Choice | "Put Your Records On" | Corinne Bailey Rae | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood Rounds, Part 1 | First Solo | Not aired | Not aired | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood Rounds, Part 2 | Group Performance | Not aired | Not aired | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood Rounds, Part 3 | Second Solo | Not aired | Not aired | N/A | Eliminated |
| Top 36/Semi-final 3 | Billboard Hot 100 Hits to Date | "No One" | Alicia Keys | 8 | Eliminated |

### Post-Idol Career
#### Lost Words (2011)

Barton released her debut EP, Lost Words, on September 1, 2011. It features seven pop, rock, and soul based songs.

#### Other ventures

In early 2013, Barton signed a "joint-venture publishing deal with Warner-Chappell & Pulse". She has co-written songs for Demi Lovato, Lea Michele, and American Idol finalist Jena Irene. Barton has worked as a background singer on Dancing with the Stars. In July 2015, it was announced that she would perform at the Miss USA 2015 pageant.
Barton became one of the background vocalists on ABC's revival of American Idol. Since the sixteenth season began airing in 2018, she has joined music director Kris Pooley and the band on stage to support the contestants during performances. She is also the lead singer for the theme song of the 2017 reboot of the Disney animated series DuckTales.

## Personal life

Barton's son Malachi (b. March 10, 2007) portrayed Beast Diaz on Disney Channel's Stuck in the Middle and Colby on The Villains of Valley View.

## Select songwriting discography

| Year | Artist | Album | Song | Co-written with |
| 2017 | Kim Tae-yeon (SNSD) | My Voice | "Eraser" | Dillon Pace, Sean Douglas |
| 2017 | Seohyun | Don't Say No | "Don't Say No" | Kenzie, Matthew Tishler |
| 2017 | Seohyun | Don't Say No | "Hello" (ft. Eric Nam) | Andrew Underberg, Andrew Choi |
| 2014 | Jena Irene | N/A | "We Are One" | Anne Preven, Mitch Allan |
| 2014 | Lea Michele | Louder | "Cue The Rain" | Lea Michele, Matt Rad, Preven |
| 2014 | Lea Michele | Louder | "Don't Let Go" | Rad, Preven |
| 2014 | Lea Michele | Louder | "Gone Tonight" | Michele, Preven, CJ Baran, Drew Lawrence |
| 2013 | Demi Lovato | Demi | "Nightingale" | Demi Lovato, Rad, Preven |

## Discography
### Albums

* Lost Words – EP (2011)

### Other songs

* I'm Your Girl (2015) for the Descendants soundtrack.
* "In the House" (2019), performed with Scott Krippayne for 101 Dalmatian Street album