Backup singers rescue wayward ‘Idols’

updated 6:12 p.m. ET April 4, 2007

LOS ANGELES - When Haley Scarnato blanked on the lyrics to “Missing You” on “American Idol,” Sy Smith did everything she could to help. When Chris Sligh lost the rhythm on more than one song, Sharlotte Gibson was there for him.

And when contestants want to borrow professional gloss for their performances, backup singers Smith, Gibson and Kenya C. Hathaway are ready to deliver.

The women, who routinely work with the likes of Beyonce and Mariah Carey, are the “American Idol” equivalent of a Charlie’s Angels musical rescue squad, doing everything within their power to make would-be stars shine.

They’ve been regulars with Fox’s hit series since it switched from canned tunes to a live band in 2005 under music director Rickey Minor. If they’ve gotten more attention this season it may be due to Melinda Doolittle, who’s gone from a career as backup singer to top contestant.

Gibson, Hathaway and Smith have deserved applause all along, said Minor, who’s worked with them on a variety of award ceremonies and concerts since the late ’90s. The women met each other on auditions and clicked instantly.

“There’s a reason it’s these three girls in particular,” Minor said. Of the 100 or so backup singers the in-demand director calls on for his gigs, they are always the first choice.

“They have such a unique way of studying the material, learning it, and then there’s their blend. ... Their pitch and intonation is so spot-on,” he said.

Over lunch at a restaurant down the street from the “American Idol” soundstage, the three are as much in sync as when they’re vocalizing. They laugh together, pick up neatly on each other’s thoughts and aren’t shy about “tooting our own horn,” as Smith puts it.

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“Toot toot! Beep beep!” Hathaway and Gibson chime in, laughing.

Doolittle’s timidity and awkward emergence from background vocalist to soloist is more a function of her own personality than the nature of backup singers, the women assert.

“I’m a big old ham,” Smith said, laughing.

“As long as it’s a place I want to be, I’m OK with I’m in the back and I’m OK when I’m in the front. The heartbreaker is when the music’s not good,” Gibson said.

The women are so very good at what they do that some viewers have wrongly guessed their voices are prerecorded. They’re so good that they’ve been asked why they haven’t entered the talent contest.

They already have satisfying careers, thank you: What “Idol” viewers see is just a sliver of their professional lives and a taste of their distinctive voices.

Hathaway, whose late father was gifted soul singer Donny Hathaway (“Where Is the Love?” and “The Closer I Get to You” were among his hit duets with Roberta Flack), has toured with George Benson as a percussionist and singer, and worked with k.d. lang and Brian McKnight.

Gibson has performed with Beyonce, Mary J. Blige and Celine Dion and fronts her own band, Sharlotte’s Web. Smith has performed with Whitney Houston and Macy Gray, tours with trumpet player Chris Botti, does TV commercials and sang on “Ally McBeal.”

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