American Idol finalist Maddie Poppe has local ties to the Waukon and Waterville areas, advances to round of final seven contestants


American Idol contestant Maddie Poppe ... Photo courtesy of Trent Poppe.

Proud grandparents ... Ellen and Daryl Larson are the grandparents of American Idol top-seven finalist Maddie Poppe, a native of Clarksville. Daryl Larson is a native of the Waukon area and still has some sisters and brothers who live in the area. Photo courtesy of Trent Poppe.

by Lissa Blake

An American Idol contestant with ties to Waukon and Waterville has made it into the television show’s top seven finalists line-up as of Sunday evening, April 29.

Twenty-year-old Iowa native Maddie Poppe is the granddaughter of Waukon native Daryl Larson and his wife, Ellen, who now live in Waverly. Other local relatives include Anna Marie Ewing of Waterville, Darlene “Dar” Klein of Waukon and Harry Larson of McGregor. Her mother, Tanya Larson Poppe, went to elementary school in Waterville as a young child.

Poppe is a singer/songwriter from Clarksville who plays guitar, ukulele and keyboard. She has been playing locally for about three years and in June 2016 she released an album of original songs, entitled “Songs from the Basement,” which she wrote, recorded and produced.

A previous contestant on the show The Voice, Poppe has been wowing American Idol viewers this season, ultimately being voted into the show’s Top 10 after performing “Walk Like an Egyptian” by the Bangles in front of a live audience and celebrity judges Luke Bryan, Katy Perry and Lionel Richie last Sunday, April 22. She then advanced to the show’s top seven finalists during the Sunday, April 29 Disney-themed episode after singing “Bare Necessities” from “The Jungle Book.” Those top seven will now perform again during the next American Idol broadcast scheduled for Sunday, May 6 at 7 p.m. CST.

THE JOURNEY
Daryl Larson is a proud grandfather, who said his granddaughter has always had music in her. “Even as a very small child, she loved to sing,” said Larson.

Larson said Poppe started taking her music seriously when she was around 12 years old, with the help of her dad, Trent. “He has always been in music, even though he doesn’t do that for a living today. He’s really the one who got behind Maddie and should be given so much credit. He put a lot of time and energy into helping her,” said Larson.

Larson said for years, Poppe has been entertaining crowds whenever she has the chance. She writes her own songs and music and loves to perform for children.

“She has performed in a lot of situations, singing the National Anthem at sporting events and other things. She has traveled on RAGBRAI® to perform and had a show at a winery in Waukon,” he said.

At age 16, Poppe was a contestant on the show “The Voice,” but Larson said she didn’t make it quite as far. About 10 months ago, she auditioned for American Idol in Chicago, IL and advanced to Omaha, NE.

“There was one more round in Nashville and she was supposed to go there to perform. But after listening to her again, the judges wanted her to come immediately to Los Angeles, so she skipped that elimination round. They thought she was that good,” Larson said.

THANKS, WAUKON
And although Larson may be a little biased, he said, “She’s just an awesome granddaughter … Everybody who sees her is just in love with her,” he said. “And it’s wonderful how Waukon is really behind her 100 percent.”

Via a personal Facebook message, Poppe added, “I’d just like to thank everybody for all the support and would love for everyone to keep voting!”

American Idol has been airing on ABC Sunday and Monday nights at 7 p.m. and will next air Sunday, May 6 and feature live performances by the remaining top-seven finalists. Voting will be open that Sunday evening during the show.

There are three ways to vote for Poppe:
1. Download the American Idol app
2. Text “10” to 21523
3. Vote at abc.com.

For more information about Maddie Poppe and her music, visit maddiepoppe.com.