Riders of Brooklyn’s Q train might have recognized a familiar face on last night’s season premiere of “American Idol” — subway singer Frankie Ford.
Ford’s rendition of the Eurythmics tune “Sweet Dreams” impressed “Idol” judges Nicki Minaj, Mariah Carey, Randy Jackson and Keith Urban — earning the 25-year-old Flatbush native a trip to Hollywood.
“I kind of had it in my head that this was going to be my first and last time auditioning [for ‘Idol’],” says Ford, who auditioned last September at the Prudential Center in Newark, NJ. “[The ‘Idol’ judges] were surprisingly receptive and I was incredibly nervous,” he says. “They were like, ‘You’ve got potential,’ and I’ll take that any day.
“I’m not a finished product by any stretch of the imagination, which is why I’m looking forward to getting to Hollywood.”
Ford grew up near Church Avenue in Flatbush, dropping out of college to pursue a music career. “[College] wasn’t really fulfilling as far as what I wanted to do,” says Ford, who got a part-time job and, several years ago, began his subway singing career on the Q train.
“It’s close to my house and I can ride all the way to Queens,” he says. “I figured it would be a good way to see if [singing] was something I could make a career out of — and if I could make people receptive to my music on the train, maybe it would work on the radio.”
He says he was “initially worried” about irritating snarky subway riders, but found most people appreciative of his singing.
“The first time I [sang] it was only for an hour and I took home 30 bucks,” he says. “I thought, ‘Maybe I am making the right decision.’ ”