Original: Prior to her appearance on American Idol , Doolittle worked as a professional back-up singer for , among others , Michael McDonald , Kirk Franklin , Aaron Neville , BeBe and CeCe Winans , Alabama , Jonny Lang , Vanessa Bell Armstrong , and Anointed .
Simplified: Melinda Marie Doolittle ( born October 6 , 1977 ) is an American singer , best known for being the third-place finalist on American Idol .