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PLUMSTED: Former ‘Idol’ contestant kicks off softball season

by Maria Prato-Gaines, The Packet Group
   PLUMSTED — Far from the bright lights of Hollywood, former “American Idol” contestant Ashley “Loren” Anderson’s voice rang out against the gusty morning wind as she opened the New Egypt’s softball league season with her rendition of the national anthem at Plumsted Township Recreation Park..
   ”This is the rewarding part,” Ms. Anderson said Saturday, surrounded by a pit of petite fans. “It’s always fun to see the smiling face of a child.”
   New Egypt softball coach Cindy VanDerBogart, an “Idol” fan, spotted Ms. Anderson, a Clarksburg resident, on TV at the Kansas City, Miss., auditions and sent her a letter inviting her to the event months ago, a shot in the dark she said just happened to pay off.
   ”I wasn’t sure if she would,” Ms. VanDerBogart said. “But she said she couldn’t be happier to help. She’s coming here out of the kindness of her heart.”
   Some might remember Ms. Anderson as the young brunette bombshell who slightly tweaked the words to a Leona Lewis song, “Footprints in the Sand,” during her audition, a song that judge Simon Cowell co-wrote.
   Although she caught a tad bit of flak for the mishap, Ms. Anderson’s talented vocals and her brimming smile garnered the four judges’ invitation to Hollywood, a difficult feat to come by on the show that has become a national phenomenon.
   Since her departure from “American Idol,” Ms. Anderson is back on the East Coast, writing, producing and recording for an album she said she hopes to release by early 2010.
   ”Life is great,” she said. “I want to be successful, and success to me means doing what I love and making someone smile through my music and my voice. I definitely want to have an impact on the world.”
   Early on in her life, Ms. Anderson’s mother, Carol Anderson, said she knew her daughter was destined for greatness. At 6 years old, Ms. Anderson made her stage debut at Clarksburg’s community theater, eventually writing her first song at the age of 12, Ms. Anderson said.
   Now at the age of 20, Ms. Anderson has a number of accomplishments to boast, including a co-starring role in a yet-to-be released film with Antonio Sabato Jr.
   Ms. Anderson is anything but a braggart; just a humble girl who hasn’t forgot her roots, her mother said.
   ”She’s got a strong work ethic. She’s compassionate and socially conscience,” Carol Anderson said. “She’s got her feet planted firmly on the ground.”