Woman Goes Into Labor While Auditioning for 'Idol'

Aug. 9, 2007— -- Talk about pregnant pauses: An American Idol contestant's audition was interrupted Monday when she went into labor, an Idol first. Antoria Gillon, 20, of Dallas, wasn't due to give birth until today, so she thought it was safe to wait in line outside Texas Stadium in Irving starting at 2:30 a.m. Monday for her first shot at the singing competition.

Just as she finally had her chance after waiting for 16 hours, "I felt something over my body when I was walking," she said in a telephone interview from her hospital bed Wednesday after giving birth to a healthy boy — her second — Tuesday morning.

"I knew right away what it was. I was singing, and the judge stopped and asked if I was OK, and I said, 'I just want to finish my song.' "

It was hip-hop trio 702's Get It Together, which aptly enough includes the lyrics, "I don't really wanna stay/I don't really wanna go."

As an ambulance pulled up midfield and panicky onlookers urged her to head for the hospital, "I said, 'Well, I haven't gotten my golden ticket yet,' " which would signal she made it to the next round.

Enduring intense contractions, she finished singing, got the familiar sheet of paper and only then climbed in.

Were producers swayed by her perseverance?

Gillon believes she made it to the second round with her vocal skills but admits, "They go by character and motivation, and I think I showed more than enough motivation."

The baby's name: Jamil Labarron Idol McCowan. "I just felt like it was more than appropriate," she says.