Mikalah Gordon Talks Debut Album and Entertainment Journey

Mikalah Gordon was only 17 years old when she landed in the Top 12 of American Idol’s fourth season, which kick-started her career with a national audience that took to her unique stage presence and powerful vocals. Although the artist has ventured into acting, comedy, and serves as the host for Channel Q’s Morning Beat, discussing the latest in LGBTQ news, pop culture, and entertainment, she has not released a full-length record until now.

With the journey of this album, Gordon has been able to find strength and healing from rough times through the power of music. Like several others, she found herself in a place of depression during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, especially after losing her grandmother, who she says was her best friend. To help process these emotions, Gordon’s friend and fellow Idol alum Brandon Rogers invited her into the studio to write out her feelings, which led to a cathartic project that shares the singer-songwriter’s story and themes of love, loss, and self-acceptance.

OFM caught up with Gordon to talk more about Vivian, titled after her grandmother, her entertainment career, and what’s next.

Let me begin by asking, how does it feel that your debut album is finally out there in the world?

With my album being out in the world now, it’s such a surreal thing because it’s been so long since I was on American Idol, and I always wanted to put out original music, but I wanted to make sure that it made sense. This particular album means so much to me, and to have the response that I’m getting, where people are like, that song reminds me of my childhood or something, it’s been so amazing to just connect with them. People that I love or people that have followed me for a long time through music and through the music that I wrote.

I’m glad that it’s being received so well by listeners!

Yes! I mean, there have been a few haters, but haters are going to hate. I was ready for anything, but I have to say, I’m so grateful. People have been very lovely, and I’ve said this quite a bit, but after the pandemic, I think people have softened up a lot. I think people have a new perspective, and we’re just happy to be entertained. Happy to create, happy to do things again. So, everyone’s been lovely.

You titled the album Vivian in honor of your late grandmother. What inspired you to name it after her?

I lost my grandma in April of 2020, and it was sort of a downward spiral for me. I had a really difficult time with her death. I had a difficult time losing her in a pandemic. When you lose somebody, you can go to your friends, your family, and be comforted and sort of distract yourself, but I was stuck in a very small apartment and the world was crazy. It was just a very overwhelming time for me.

Once I decided to sort of get it together and realized I should probably go to therapy and change bad habits, that’s when the album started to form. It was to write out my feelings and all these overwhelming things, and I feel like her death was sort of a rebirth for me. It challenged me to go deeper and face things that I didn’t want to face. It was just such an honor for her.

What are some of the universal themes that are present in the album?

I think the biggest one for me is “Hands Off,” my single which empowers sexual abuse survivors. Being in therapy, I had to touch upon a lot of things that I had never really talked about, and that ended up being something that was such a big deal. I didn’t want it to be a victim-type anthem, but I wanted it to be strong about taking your power back if you’ve been abused in any way. That’s really what it was, and I’m so proud of that song, as well as the response it’s been getting. It’s for men and women.

There’s also a song called “Witness,” where I do a duet with my younger brother. It just honors the relationship between siblings. Whether you speak, fight, or don’t talk at all. My brother and I have gone without talking, but he’s also my best friend. We’ve been on a very emotional roller coaster, but there’s really no relationship like a sibling relationship. They are witness to the beginning of your life to the end of your life, and they see things that even your spouse doesn’t really see. So, it’s touching on that very special relationship, and the album overall touches on very relatable things.

Ultimately, what do you hope audiences take away from Vivian?

I hope that the audience hears the authenticity, honesty, and rawness from the album. I’ve said this so many times, but I didn’t write the album to make hits or to get a record deal. I wrote it so that somebody could feel less lonely. Whether you’re a part of the LGBTQ community and you’ve been ousted, whether you are a survivor of abuse, whether you feel like you want to do something, but you feel like you’re too old or you don’t know how and you’re running out of time. I hope Vivian helps you overcome whatever it is that’s burdening you.

You kind of touched on this earlier, but you kicked off your career at 17-years-old by being in the Top 12 of American Idol‘s Season 4. That was in 2005. What made you decide to release an album now and not sooner?

My career sort of took so many different directions. I actually didn’t sing for 10 years after American Idol because I had a really hard time after the show. I was 16 when I auditioned, and 16 turning 17 during the Top 12, and I sort of put singing on the backburner. I got hired as a host and I got into television acting, so my career went more that way. I focused more on that, then I got into stand-up comedy. It was only a few years ago when I fully got back into singing.

Singing is my number one love, it’s my number one passion, but it’s something that I’m the most sensitive about as well. I was very insecure, and I didn’t feel ready to take on any kind of criticism about something that I cared so much about. But again, with the death of my grandma, it brought me a lot of strength. Now, the pressure’s off whether or not you think I have a good voice or if you like the album. I wrote it for me.

What did you take away from your time on American Idol, and how did it feel to be in the spotlight at such a young age?

I took so much from American Idol. I don’t know if I would have had a career if it wasn’t for American Idol, and I think in a lot of ways, the show saved my life. I was having a really difficult time, and the show was sort of my ticket out. I’m so grateful for that. I think early on, I learned my favorite quote, ‘You can be the juiciest peach of the bunch and people will still want apples.’ Not everyone’s going to get you and not everyone’s going to like you, and that’s really not my problem. That’s also been so beneficial in my regular life.

What are your thoughts on the new American Idol?

I think it’s interesting. It’s different than the old American Idol because I think where it is now, American Idol is competing against social media, TikTok, the ability for people to record a television show and not have to watch it live. When it was my season, we didn’t have all these social media outlets, and we were inundated with news and media. Now, the minute a singer sings a song, it’s on social media, Instagram – there’s no pause. So, I think they’ve done a great job of trying to keep it how it was, because I think it’s been difficult to have something sustainable when outlets like TMZ leaks everything so quickly.

Let’s circle back to comedy for a second. How did that start for you?

I feel like everything genuinely fell into my lap. I did not anticipate anything that came to me, but I realized early on that I got myself out of trouble by being funny, so I kept it in my back pocket (laughs). I also didn’t feel like the prettiest. I grew up in the era where being blonde, tall, and skinny was beautiful, and I’m very short, brunette, and curvy. I did not feel pretty, but I knew I was funny, so comedy has always just been my thing. It’s just my personality.

I think that I used it so much during American Idol, not even necessarily trying to, it was my go-to, but Fran Drescher saw it. After the show, her producers from Living with Fran called me and offered me a role to play her cousin. That’s literally how comedy and acting sort of entered my life.

I saw that you do a killer Melanie Trump impression. Like, I could not stop laughing! Do you impersonate any other celebrity figures?

No! It’s so funny because in the height of Melania, they’d say, oh, she’s a Melania impersonator. I was like, I’m not an impersonator. I don’t know how to do this with anybody but Melania. Like, I got lucky. In comedy and skits, we used to do the Kardashians a lot in the very beginning. I did that with Todrick Hall around 12 years ago, we had this little show on YouTube, but Melania just ended up falling into my wheelhouse. I don’t impersonate anybody else. I will say though, with Trump announcing that he was running for president again, my Donald Trump, John Di Domenico, called me and goes, the only good news out of this is we might have more work!

You are also a host for Channel Q’s Morning Beat, where you discuss the latest in LGBTQ+ news, pop culture, and entertainment. What do you enjoy the most about that?

It’s very important that I use my voice and platform for people who may not have that opportunity, like many of our trans brothers and sisters. It’s important that we break these stigmas around our trans brothers and sisters, so that they’re no longer victimized or looked at as pedophiles and all these nasty things that are said about them. A lot of the stories that we cover really don’t make mainstream media.

A big one a couple weeks ago was about Candace Cameron Bure leaving Hallmark because she wants to see traditional marriage. While she didn’t outright say she doesn’t like gays, we all know what that means. I’ve been with my partner for seven and a half years, and I take offense to that. Instead of sitting on the sidelines, I have the opportunity to give my opinion.

I have the opportunity to invite senators, celebrities, attorneys in our community to talk about really important things and just educate myself and others about a community that I’m not only a part of, but that I love and respect so much.

What are some future goals you hope to accomplish with your career and platform?

I have a major one right now, I feel like I’m saying it to manifest it, but I am currently working on a script that would involve myself, Leah Remini, Michelle Visage, and Fran Drescher. All women that I love, respect, admire, and are friends with. I would love to have a sitcom that centered around the four of us. That is really the goal for me. I love when people hear me sing because it evokes different emotions, but I love to make people laugh, and we need it. We need laughter right now. It feels like a really dark time, and those three are comedy queens. They’re brilliant. It would be such an honor to have that with them.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?

Yeah, I have another show called World’s Funniest Animals on the CW. You can catch it on Fridays at 7:00 p.m. CST, so make sure to check that out!

Stay up-to-date and connect with Gordon on Instagram @mikalahgordon, TikTok @mikalahgordon88, or visit her official website, mikalahgordon.com. Vivian is available on all digital streaming platforms, and tune into Channel Q’s Morning Beat Monday-Friday via the Odyssey App.

Photos courtesy of Chris Martin