Nursing becomes focus for ‘Idol’ Mascitti
As 2020 began, Stark County native Lauren Mascitti was poised for a remarkable year.
The country singer-songwriter based in Nashville released a solo album titled “God Made a Woman,” of which she was justifiably proud, on Jan. 8, 2020. It was produced by her fiancé Shawn Camp, a Grammy Award-winning Nashville songwriter.
Even more promising, Mascitti had been chosen to compete on “American Idol,” had already taped the show’s Hollywood Week in December and would be traveling to Hawaii later in January for more “Idol” performances.
“I was pretty excited this time last year,” Mascitti, 29, said in a phone interview on Sunday. “I had no idea we were going to have a worldwide pandemic.”
COVID-19 put the kibosh on Mascitti’s plan to promote her new album with live performances, but it has affected her life even deeper.
In addition to her musical pursuits, she is a registered nurse at Tristar Horizon Medical Center outside Nashville.
“We’ve been working lots of extra shifts and extra long hours,” Mascitti said about Tristar’s nursing staff. “Anyone in the medical field knows the dynamic. It’s been very difficult and very heavy. It’s been a heavy year.”
On April 5, Mascitti exited the “American Idol” competition, just shy of making the Top 20. She’d taken time off from nursing to give her full attention to “Idol,” but soon returned to being an RN, a degree she received in 2013 from Stark State College.
“When i got voted off ‘Idol’ we were right in the middle of the pandemic,” Mascitti said. Answering COVID’S call, she has put her musical career on the back burner for the time being, although she’s treated her fans to regular videotaped performances of classic country songs via Facebook and Instagram.
The huge exposure Mascitti received from “American Idol” propelled “God Made a Woman” to No. 4 on itune’s country album chart, and the title song attracted play on country radio. She received positive attention in People and Entertainment Weekly, and “God Made a Woman” was chosen as one of 2020’s best albums by the New York Times. She also made her first music video, for “Losing My Mind,” a heartbreaker in the classic-country vein.
The Louisville High grad lives outside Nashville with her grandmother, Dee Mascitti, whom she lovingly refers to as Nana. Following are highlights from our Sunday conversation:
Q. Nursing has always been your backup plan for a career in music, hasn’t it?
A. “Anybody who moves to Nashville and plans to do music full-time generally has to do something else. So many friends wait tables five or six days a week and struggle to do music. I love music and want to make it a career for myself, that’s why I moved here, but at the same time I need to do something to support myself and my career. Studio time and hiring musicians gets to be really expensive, and the cost of living is high here and it just keeps going up.”
Q. What a challenging time this must be for a nurse.
A. “I’ve always been proud and happy that I get to be part of something that’s bigger than me. This year, I’ve really seen how important it is. I’ve learned a lot. Some days you think you have it so bad, then you meet people who have been through so much. I’ve seen a lot of miracles and I’ve seen a lot of tragedies. I’m a regular floor nurse so I get all kinds of stuff but I’ve been working in the COVID unit as well.”
Q. Have you lost any friends to COVID-19?
A. “Joe Diffie was a good friend of ours. I had met John Prine a handful of times, Shawn was good friends with him. We’ve lost a lot of friends to different reasons. So many celebrities passing away. 2020 has not been kind.”
Q. Let’s talk about “American Idol.” It had to be disappointing not going further, but you gained a lot of new fans, right?
A. “Oh my gosh, it really gave my career a big boost! I’m really thankful. I got so many more followers on social media,
people who hopefully will be coming to my shows when venues start opening. My album went to No. 4 on the itunes country album chart and my song ‘God Made a Woman’ went to No. 10. That was super exciting, especially because I’m still an independent artist.”
Q. Has “American Idol” gained you respect in Nashville, or is there a stigma because it’s a TV contest?
A. “It’s definitely helped. I feel like there’s so many artists on major labels who have come off ‘Idol’ and done really well – Lauren Alaina, Scotty Mccreary. Carrie (Underwood) was a huge one.”
Q. I’ve read a lot about how country radio favors male artists over females, but there seems to be a real groundswell of women in country.
A. “I tend to look up to Dolly Parton as a huge inspiration, not just creatively but as a businesswoman. I love her attitude. She used being a woman not as her weakness but as her strength, and I like to do the same thing. I think it’s a really good time to be a woman in country music. There’s a lot of female artists coming up and not just teenage girls in short skirts prancing around onstage. There’s a lot of female songwriters in the age bracket of 30 and older. Nashville is really starting to see the value of what women have to say.”
Q. One thing that impresses me about your records is how worldly and lived-in your lyrics and vocals seem, especially as young as you are.
A. I write a lot from experience and whatever’s not from experience I take poetic license on. I hear so many stories at the hospital from my patients, and from all these years of meeting people. Lived-in songs come from just living. I definitely write different songs than I did when I was 17.”
Q. How many albums have you recorded so far, and what was the first one?
A. “‘God Made a Woman’ is my ninth or 10th, and I’m really proud of it. I made my first record when i was 8 at Trinity Gospel Temple. My first vocal coach was Cheryl Jamison and her husband, Terry, was the engineer. It used (pre-recorded instrumental) tracks. Nana and I would find them at Berean Christian Store. That was my early stomping ground.”
Q. Have you done any songwriting lately?
A. “I’ve been really focused on nursing, and that tends to take a toll on my creative mindset. Honestly, my mind has been elsewhere for the back half of (2020). I’m looking to get more writing done this year. Hopefully there’s light at the end of the tunnel (with COVID). I do have some things I’m planning on releasing in the next couple of months, a couple of singles.”
Q What has Shawn been up to?
A. “He is so scared of this virus and I don’t blame him at all. He’s not doing anything until it goes away. He’s really heavy-hearted about people congregating as an audience and he doesn’t want to be responsible for anyone getting sick. I completely understand that. We’ve all been really careful.”
Q. I hope to see you in concert in Canton this year!
A. “I’m supposed to be playing at the Alive Festival (at Atwood Lake Park) this coming year and also at the Jackson amphitheater (in North Park) the same weekend. We’ll see. I’m hoping by that time this whole mess of a virus will be done with and we’ll be back to life as usual.”