We’ve seen celebrity progeny on American Idol before: Aretha Franklin’s granddaughter Grace tried out for the singing competition last year. Jim Carrey’s daughter, Jane, auditioned in 2012. And Jordin Sparks, daughter of former NFL player Phillippi Sparks, won Idol’s sixth season. Now, in the February 19 premiere of American Idol Season 21, we’ll check out another Idol hopeful with a famous family member: Lyric Medeiros, daughter of Glenn Medeiros.
In case you weren’t tracking pop music in the 1980s — or weren’t even alive in the 1980s — Glenn rose to fame as a teenager with his 1987 version of the R&B song “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You,” which hit No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three years later, he topped the chart with “She Ain’t Worth It,” a new jack swing track featuring Bobby Brown.
According to his AllMusic bio, Glenn’s music career kicked into high gear when he won a local radio contest at age 16. Alongside the hits “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You” and “She Ain’t Worth It,” the Hawai‘i native had modest success with the songs “All I’m Missing Is You,” a duet with Ray Parker Jr., and “Under Any Moon,” which got him a cameo in The Karate Kid Part III.
(In another Hollywood connection, Glenn co-wrote “Let Me Be the One,” the Season 11 theme song for Baywatch.)
After eight years in the limelight, Glenn moved back to Hawai‘i and pursued another calling: a career in education. “For every person who becomes successful, I can give you hundreds of others who put everything in and still didn’t make it,” Medeiros told Pacific Edge in 2018. “The most successful people I’ve met aren’t just passionate about one thing. They create a new top-five every few years and adjust as they go.”
He still performed locally, though, even sharing the stage at Waikiki’s Polynesian Palace with a young Bruno Mars.
Glenn earned a bachelor’s degree in history and humanities from the University of Hawaii, a master’s degree in education from the University of Phoenix, and a doctorate degree in education from the University of Southern California, according to the Associated Press. And after a stint as vice principal at Maryknoll High School in Honolulu, he became president of the St. Louis School, an all-boys Catholic school in the city, in 2015.
“The great thing about being from Hawai‘i is that people want to see you succeed,” he told Pacific Edge. “You’re part of the Hawai‘i team. Whether as a singer or an administrator, I always felt a responsibility to the people of Hawai‘i and to the kids out there watching who may want to do the same thing. I take that very seriously.”
Lyric paid tribute to her famous dad in a February 3 TikTok video, which also reveals that her brother’s name is Chord. In that upload, Lyric explains that the musical inspiration for her and Chord’s names “all starts with ‘Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You.’”
“This song allowed my dad to sell over [7 million] records and to tour to over 30 countries!” Lyric added in the TikTok caption. “We’re forever proud of our teen pop star dad! Fun fact: My mom actually came up with our names!”
And last year, Lyric shared an Instagram video of herself joining Glenn for a father-daughter duet of his most famous song. “We’re forever grateful for this song,” she said.
Depending on how Lyric’s Idol journey goes, perhaps she’ll follow her dad to the top of the charts and craft her own musical legacy.
American Idol, Season 21 premiere, Sunday, February 19, 8/7c, ABC
