DALLAS -- What you likely know about Caroline Kraddick is her name, made famous behind a microphone by her father, Kidd.
"I grew up doing 'Bath time with Caroline,' which was my first bit," she said.
What you may not know, is what she can do with a mic. Her love affair with music started at the very beginning.
"I always remember just kind of singing around the house and my dad, who was also musically inclined, said, ‘You have really good pitch, we need to get her in voice lessons,'" she said.
Voice and piano lessons followed, and the rest of her childhood was spent in costume, on stage. She studied musical theater at Oklahoma City University. All the while, her father built a nationally successful morning radio show, with connections any budding artist could only dream of.
"My dad all the time was like ‘I’ll make you a pop star.You want to be a pop star? I’ll make you a pop star,'" said Caroline. "And I was like 'No dad, I wanted to be a normal kid.' I wanted to do it on my own!"
Whatever she did, she’d do without him. Kidd Kraddick died suddenly in 2013. She sang at his public memorial, and that was it. For some time.
"It happened right after my dad passed away. I hadn’t been singing a while, because it was just too vulnerable, too hard," said Caroline. "And then I used music to help me get through what I was going through."
Grief also had an impact she didn’t expect. "I feel like when you go through something, your voice kind of changes, so my voice became a little bit more soulful, and more gritty," she said.
Caroline began sharing that voice on social media.
Her days were filled with taking over Kidd’s Kids, her father’s charity that takes children with life-altering conditions and their families on memorable trips. She never quit her daydream. Last year, she found the chance to chase it.
"I literally grew up on it," she said. "I was in 5th grade when it started!"
Caroline auditioned for the new American Idol. "Going in front of the judges was just this fire, like I cannot wait to sing in front of them," she said. "I always get more excited than nervous."
We’ll hear their critiques starting Sunday, March 11. Caroline will be featured in the episode auditioning in front of the judges in New York. And in the episodes that follow, we’ll get to watch as Caroline does what her dad hoped she’d do.
"He told me, 'You have a gift. You cannot choose to not share it with people,'" she said, of Kidd. "So I know he would be so excited that I’m finally taking the time to focus on my music career."
American Idol premieres this Sunday at 7 p.m. on WFAA Channel 8.