On Saturday, Sept. 7, American Idol Season 20 top-three finisher, Leah Marlene, will take the stage at the Castle Theater in Normal, IL. The show starts at 8 p.m. with Fritz Hager, the Season 20 runner-up, opening the show. 

On the stage, many will recognize her as Leah Marlene, but here in the halls of Normal West, she’ll always be Leah Grehan, a 2019 graduate with a lot of positive energy, an even bigger heart, and a nearly-life-long dream of headlining a show at the Castle Theater, where she grew up watching some of her favorite artists perform.

Although only 23 years old, Marlene is a woman who has lived through many stages of her continually-evolving musical career. She’s experienced many ups and downs, but she has persevered through each stage, making her who she is today.

Although born in Canada, Marlene credits most of her roots to Normal, IL where she grew up in the same house since she was about three years old. 

She attended Unit 5 schools–Prairieland Elementary, Parkside Junior High, and Normal West–graduating in 2019.

Although her childhood was pretty normal, Marlene did grow up around music as her dad, Derry Grehan, was a member of a Canadian Rock Band named Honeymoon Suite.

It is safe to say that music has always been a part of her identity.

“I started playing music publicly when I was 8 or 9, and my mom made me a MySpace and a YouTube channel,” Marlene recalls.

Outside of music, Marlene also simply craved learning. 

In fact, she involved herself in a number of clubs, various sports, and challenging academic courses, all stemming from her curiosity and a passion for learning.

“When I was in high school, I was definitely the girl that sang and whatever, but I was also an overachiever. I really took pride in academics. I really enjoyed learning, and I was a good student and also really cared,” Marlene recalls.

 “I was involved in a lot of things, and so I learned how to juggle my time and do a lot of different things at once, which in some ways is really good but in some ways was a little bit too much. Like, it was not the healthiest balance, but it was the beginning of me learning what that balance was.”

As Marlene navigated her childhood and high school identity, she never forgot where her true passion lies: music.

After a two-year stint at Belmont University in Nashville, Tennessee, where Marlene studied songwriting, she did some self-reflection and took a break from music and school. However, it was not long into this personal break that Marlene was approached by producers from American Idol.

It was that opportunity that propelled Marlene to join season 20 of American Idol, where she eventually finished third.

“Before I went on the show, I’d watch…a little bit and was like ‘dang…like I could never do that!’ It is so intense and so nerve-wracking, and I was just so scared and out-of-my-mind at the idea of being in a situation like that,” Marlene remembers.

“But then I did it, and I was like ‘holy cow’…like I could literally do anything I set my mind to now. Like I did something that felt like the craziest, most impossible thing, so nowadays, it’s been so long since I’ve been on the show that I’m more back in that headspace of how I was before[the show], and now I’m like ‘oh wait…anything that’s really scary or crazy or exhilarating you’ve still got that in you…like you’ve done it before, and you can do it again,” Marlene states.

Her time on American Idol is certainly familiar to us here at Normal West as we fondly remember painting our hallways yellow to celebrate our hometown girl’s rise to stardom. 

However, Marlene fully recognizes that her time on American Idol is not fully representative of who she is as an artist–noting that since her time on the show, she has found a healthier pathway in the music industry.

After spending the first couple of years post-Idol touring, writing, and figuring things out, Marlene was hooked up with a music manager who provided a positive shift in mindset for her. 

“For the first time, I felt really confident, knowing strategically what moves to make and how to get where I want to go,” Marlene shares.

“Now, I’m in a place where I’m building a career towards that very specific pathway that I want to go on that is fulfilling and meaningful to me. I am…doing things a lot more strategically and not doing everything at once but just doing the right things slowly but surely to build the foundation.”

Some of those strategic moves include opening for acts such as American Idol Season 7 winner, David Cook or Australian Indie-Pop band The Cat Empire as well as simply surrounding herself with people who keep her balanced and happy.

“Although my career has always been my life because I love it so much, it is hard not to let it swallow you, but I think having people around you that keep you balanced [as well as] remembering all the things that are really meaningful to you outside of just the things that you’re trying to achieve in your career has been really helpful.”

“Because it doesn’t matter where my career goes if I have X Y and Z in my personal life that I’m fulfilled by,” Marlene shares.

And this current approach to her career brings us back to Saturday’s show at the Castle Theater where the Leah-through-all-of-the-stages has always wanted to play.

Growing up here in Normal has shaped Marlene into who she is today, and one of the places where she has some of her fondest musical memories is the Castle Theater.

 Going to see shows there as a child, having an internship there, and even being an opening act twice after graduating high school, Marlene has always had a strong connection with the venue, and she is ecstatic about the opportunity to headline a homecoming show there.

“I mean I always dreamed of playing on that stage, and I kind of did everything I could to get my foot in the door {when I was younger],” Leah mentions.

Although many years removed from the beginning of this dream, Marlene is set to check this venue and goal of playing there off of her list in her show tomorrow night.

Marlene is not only a phenomenal singer/performer to the world, but she’s also a beloved (former) student of West and will forever be remembered here.

Her passion has led her to continue music and now return to Normal to perform once again.

“As cheesy as as it [sounds],  coming home feels very warm and joyful because there’s so many people here that have lifted me up from the very beginning and who have allowed me to play music in Uptown Normal when nobody should have been hearing me make those noises… I’ve just been supported from such a young age, and it just feels like I’m coming home to my family,” Marlene states.

To celebrate the homecoming as well as to encourage any West students or alum to attend, Marlene  invites fans to use the discount code: NCWHS to receive a 20% discount on your ticket sale.

Doors to the show open at 7 p.m., and the show will begin at 8 p.m. Tickets are sold at the door and online.