By Amy Fuhrman

This year’s American Idol contestants haven’t even made it to Hollywood, but the show has already crowned the season’s first star.

Just 30-some-odd hours after entering the world, little Emma Grace Highman made her debut on the world stage. The Cornelius baby and her parents, Oliver and Allison, found themselves in front of some of America’s toughest judges — Simon, Paula and Randy.

Oliver and Allison Highman pose with their daughter, Emma Grace, in their Cornelius home this weekend. Amy Fuhrman photo

- advertisement -

Judge Randy Jackson dubbed Emma Grace an “Idol baby” and often cranky Simon Cowell cooed “I feel like this is my baby. In a strange way, I do.“

Unfortunately, the warm fuzzies didn’t extend to Oliver, who faced the judges after riding the emotional rollercoaster of labor and delivery and getting little-to-no sleep.

Simon was true to form, calling Oliver’s performance “Corny. Old-fashioned. Not good.”

“They didn’t show him saying it was horrible,” Oliver said with a wry laugh as he bounced now 5-month-old Emma Grace on his lap.

But he takes the criticism in stride. “I know I didn’t do my best,” he said.

An unplanned delivery
America first met the Highmans last Tuesday, but it was actually five months ago that Oliver, a former contestant on Gimme the Mike Charlotte, headed to Charleston, S.C., in search of stardom.
The auditions happened to coincide with their third wedding anniversary, so a very pregnant Allison drove down to join him for the day.

Cameras followed the couple — they’ve been together since they were 14 — as they drive around Charleston and then later as Allison, unexpectedly in labor at 37 weeks, headed to the hospital.

“I’m a nurse,” Allison said. “I figured I’d go overdue.”

Emma Grace had other plans, and Oliver wound up missing his audition to witness the birth of his first child.

The show gave him another shot, and wearing the same crumpled blazer and tie he’d had on two days before — a requirement of the show — Oliver got ready to sing. He’d prepared two songs: “Sittin’ on the Dock of the Bay” and “Get Here.” At Allison’s urging, he went with the latter, drawing criticism from the judges.

“I told him to do (that song),” she said. “I felt kind of bad.”

As Oliver faced the judges, Allison and Emma Grace waited on the other side of the double doors, killing time by chatting with host Ryan Seacrest.

“I was thinking, ‘Oh my gosh, this is weird,’ ” Allison said.

She admits her main focus wasn’t exactly on the competition. “I’d just had a baby,” she laughed. “Who cares about ‘American Idol’?”
Allison considered heading right for home — “we were discharged and were on our way out of town” — but decided to swing by the auditions with her mom, who made it to Charleston in time for Emma Grace’s arrival.

“They were all so nice,” she said of the show’s staff. “We didn’t want to totally not try out and disappoint them.”

So Oliver sang. The judges passed. And Emma Grace was called into the spotlight.

All Allison could think was “Please don’t let me fall” as she walked into the room, which had blinding lights overhead.

Even though Oliver didn’t make it to the next round, the couple says they’re glad to have had the experience.

“It was cool for us because we’ll always have the footage for (Emma Grace),” Allison said. “For us, it’s a personal story.”

That personal story went public very fast last week. Moments after Oliver’s face first flashed across the screen, the calls and text messages started pouring in.

“We heard from people we hadn’t heard from in years,” Oliver said.

He’s been interviewed by a radio station in Los Angeles and his hometown newspaper back in Ohio. There’s footage of his moment of fame on YouTube and hits are up on his MySpace page.

And the other night at O’Charley’s, Allison said almost everyone seemed to know who they were — “the cute couple from American Idol with the baby.”

“We just laugh about it,” she said, and Oliver chimed in, “We stay pretty grounded.”

Oliver says he still has dreams of a singing career.

“It’s something I’ve always wanted to do — singing is a passion,” he said. “Unfortunately, it hasn’t paid the bills yet.”

So he’ll keep his day job and keep singing for his friends and family.

And he’s not ruling out one more try for “American Idol.”

“That’s something we’ll have to discuss,” he said, shooting a sidelong glance at his wife.

For now, Oliver is enjoying being a new dad and playing “Mr. Mom” on the weekends while Allison works.

“It’s great knowing on the drive home from work, there’s going to be two people smiling to see me,” he said.

And the couple is focused on future plans that have nothing to do with singing.

“We’re more excited to have our next baby than a CD,” Allison said.

You must be logged in to post comments. Please Log in or register.