By By KEVIN SCOTT CUTLER
Lifestyles & Features Editor
An alumna of downtown Washington’s Beaufort County Idol singing competition is ready to make waves in the entertainment industry.
Jordan Futrell, 16, competed in last year’s Idol event, making it to the finals presented at the Turnage Theater. Now she’s recording an album and preparing for her movie debut.
Futrell lives in Winterville with her parents, Lisa and Allen Futrell Jr., and her younger brother, Jon-Michael, 13. But her roots run deep in Beaufort County, where her grandparents, Judy and Allen Futrell Sr., reside in Chocowinity. She has much extended family in the area, too.
She won a spot in the Idol finals after impressing the judges with her rendition of “Bring Me Down.” For the Turnage show, she performed a song she wrote, “Mr. Cheater.”
“I’ve been singing my entire life, and I really got into song-writing when I was about 11 or so. I just kept doing it,” Futrell said.
While auditioning for Beaufort County Idol last summer, Futrell also was working on recording a demo album.
“I went to the studio and it ended up really good,” Futrell said. “The musicians that were brought in became my band, JoBeth. Now, we’re everyone.”
“They started out doing a country demo, but it’s more rock now,” added her grandfather, one of the band’s biggest supporters and somewhat of an unofficial promoter. “They just make a good team. They work at it, they’re serious about what they’re doing.”
Along with working on her first album and putting together a new band, Futrell is set to make her acting debut in an independent film, the working title of which is “The Good Guys.”
Futrell and the band will perform Friday at the Tipsy Teapot in downtown Greenville. Their performance will be filmed for the movie, and Futrell even has a few lines.
“We don’t know much about it, except that it’s partially being filmed in Greenville,” Futrell said. “It’s a faith-based film about two rap artists trying to make it in the music business, and they realize they need God in their lives to succeed.”
Futrell, comfortable on stage as a singer, said she’s ready to act before the cameras, too.
“I auditioned as a vocalist but I’ve never really acted before,” she said. “But I’m a performer and that’s part of it.”
Futrell probably inherited her love for music from her paternal grandfather.
“I managed a band in Raleigh in the early 1980s, but after a while they just went their different ways to do other things,” he said. “I hope I’ve helped Jordan. She is a hard worker and likes getting done what needs to be done. We’re fully supportive of her.”
Futrell isn’t the only one in her family with a passion for performing. Brother Jon-Michael has such passion, too.
“He plays guitar, violin and keyboard,” she said. “He actually wanted to audition for Beaufort County Idol last year, but I begged him not to!”