Meredith McHenry, Semi-Finalist, West Region

— -- Meredith McHenry @meredithmchenry (Semi-Finalist)

Favorite Karaoke Song?
It Hurt So Bad - Susan Tedeschi
Favorite Singer/ Group?
My favorites right now are Adele and the Black Keys. But I never get tired of listening to my Solomon Burke channel on Pandora.
First Job?
Hostess at an Italian restaurant down the street from my house. I was 13.
Biggest Accomplishment?
Mastering the local lingo while living in Pittsburgh, Pa. for 2 years! HA! Tweet me to find out why.

Meredith is a "bay area" girl at heart and currently resides in Oakland, Calif. where she is a business management consultant for Mentor Plus.

Fancying herself a blues and soul singer, belting out tunes like "It's a Man's World" by James Brown, she says she's been singing since she could talk and has performed in various reparatory and college theatre companies. Highlights include starring in her favorite role as Carla in the musical 'Nine' at Las Positas College.

Meredith has been entertaining karaoke fans since she was 21 in such places as The Mint in the Castro District of San Francisco as well as Gallagher's in the East Bay, where she qualified for the regionals of Karaoke World Championships USA.

She says karaoke represents the best of times and the worst of times for her. Meredith met a man who would end up becoming her husband while singing karaoke. Her marriage later ended in divorce, which she says has been the biggest obstacle in her life. "Karaoke destroyed my life and now I'm back to reclaim it," McHenry said. "When I'm up on stage singing, I just kind of feel whole, complete, like there's nothing else missing."

Will Meredith McHenry's passion for karaoke and music shine through and take her to the finals? Find out in the coming weeks, Fridays 9/8 Central on ABC.