'American Idol' alum, TikTok star launches coffee shop in Illinois
WATERLOO, Ill. (KTVI) — A former "American Idol" contestant who caught stardom for her viral videos of making coffee has opened her first coffee shop in the Illinois area.
Alexandra Kay began growing in popularity on her TikTok account @alexandrakaymusic, where she would film herself making a cup of coffee while she sang to famous tunes.
"(I would) record on my phone and post it on TikTok and then before I knew it, Randy Travis was at the wedding," said Kay. "My videos: Tim McGraw, Tracy Lawrence. And then before I knew it, I had went from no followers to four million now."
Kay gained recognition online as the "Coffee girl," her videos captivating many fans. With a coffee shop opening in Waterloo, Illinois, fans of Kay came out to show their support.
"She's such an inspiration to anyone my age," said Megan Scheibel, a fan. "I'm a little bit younger than her but she's helped me through a really tough time moving so seeing her do this is amazing."
About 800 people lined up for The Coffee Girl Cafe's opening. With Thursday's opening being a big day for her business, Kay has special plans for the summer.
Starting Friday night, Kay will play at the St. Louis Music Park. Afterwards, she will be on tour with country superstar Brad Paisley. Despite having a loaded schedule, Kay has strong ambitions for her shop.
Kay, whose name is Alexandra Lexi Krekorian, appeared as an "Idol" contestant in 2011 and auditioned for "The Voice" in 2017. She later appeared on the Netflix reality series "Westside" in 2018, which followed nine musicians in Los Angeles trying to break into the music industry. Kay released her debut country album "All I've Ever Known" in 2023. Last year, Kay was featured alongside country superstar Jelly Roll for the song "Leave the Light On," from the "Twisters" soundtrack.
Her most recent singles include "Cupid's A Cowgirl" and "The Last," both released this year.
It's been a long road to success for Kay and now she's just enjoying it and looking forward to the future.
"The Coffee Girl is hopefully going to be a franchise and that's why I started the company," she said. "It was important and the very first one was going to be here in Waterloo."