In 2006, Sgambelluri unsuccessfully tried out for Season 5 of the American television reality show, American Idol; she returned in 2007 for Season 6 auditions.
Sgambelluri appeared in the first few minutes of the "Best of the Rest" episode of American Idol Season 6, where she sang Christina Aguilera's Ain't No Other Man and Ira Gershwin's Someone to Watch Over Me. She also appeared in the opening credits and a promo that season jumping up and down in a fountain in Memphis with her "Golden Ticket" to Hollywood, but was contractually required to keep her final status a secret.
Sgambelluri was eliminated from the competition in the Hollywood rounds. She did, however, make it into the Idol Final 100, received kudos from Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, was feted in Albany, and was able to perform in Hollywood.
Read more about this topic: Melissa Sgambelluri