Ada Vox

Quick Facts

Intro

American drag queen and singer

Places

United States of America

Drag queen Singer

Work field

Music

Gender

Female

Place of birth

San Antonio, Texas, USA

The details

Biography

Ada Vox, real-name Adam Sanders, is an American drag queen and singer recognized for contesting in the sixteenth season of ABC's American Idol and making history as the first drag queen to become a top 10 finalist with their performance of Jennifer Holliday's "And I Am Telling You I'm Not Going."

Ada Vox was born Adam Sanders in San Antonio, Texas. In around 2002, when they were eight years old, Vox underwent brain surgery. In a May 2018 interview with Billboard, Vox mentioned that their mother's singing was a major factor in their recovery. The healing powers of music pulled Vox towards singing.

Vox auditioned for ABC's American Idol unsuccessfully 12 times. For their thirteenth attempt at the 16th season of the show (March 2018), they decided to stand out by auditioning as "Ada Vox," their drag queen alter ego. Unfortunately, Vox was eliminated from the competition on April 29, 2018, unable to make it into the competition's top seven. Their elimination sparked online controversy, with fans claiming that conservative America didn't want to see an LGBTQ performer succeed, while others, including season 2 Idol runner-up Clay Aiken, said Vox simply didn't have the talent necessary to move forward. The show was judged by Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie. In the top three were: Maddie Poppe from Clarksville, Iowa, (winner); Caleb Lee Hutchinson from Dallas, Georgia,(runner-up); and Gabby Barrett from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, (third place).

Songs sung by Vox at American Idol