Roar singer Katy Perry threw away her wig after her performance and Country Girl singer Luke Bryan was brought to tears for the first time in his four years of American Idol history. We’re talking about the 20-year-old American Idol contestant, Grace Kinstler, who completely amazed the judges with her performances.
Grace entered the competition after an online audition. She went on to sing two songs during the first round winning the Golden Ticket to the next round. On the next round, she sang 10 Seconds and on the next, she partnered with Alyssa Wray to completely stun the judges with her marvelous collaboration.
Let’s jump right in to get to know everything about Grace Kinstler!
Grace Brought Luke Bryan to Tears; American Idol Journey
Grace Kinstler first auditioned for the 19th Season of American Idol over a Zoom call. She later flew to Los Angeles for a physical audition in front of the three judges.
It was crazy. I went from the comfort of my home to L.A., in front of three of the biggest stars right now in the music industry.
Grace on her physical audition experience!
Source: Instagram
At first, Kinstler sang Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips. When she was told to sing a second song, she chose (You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman by Aretha Franklin. Luke Bryan, the One Margarita hitmaker, was brought to tears after the heart-touching performance.
I get brought to tears by stories and backgrounds of what people have been through and their struggles. But this is the first time in four years that just someone’s singing made me cry.
Luke Bryan on being brought to tears!
On the Hollywood Week: Genre Challenge, Kinstler sang 10 Seconds by Jazmine Sullivan in the Soul Category competing against DJ Johnson, Xavier Washington, Celeste Butler, and Re’h. She advanced to the next stage where she collaborated with Alyssa Wray to sing Bruno Mars‘ Grenade.
During the Showstoppers Round, Grace dedicated Demi Lovato‘s song Father to her late dad who died last February. She advanced to the top 24 after her heartfelt performance. On the 10th episode (All Star Duets and Solos) of Season 19, she sang Queen by Jessie J and also collaborated with Joss Stone to sing Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight and the Pips. The next episode will air on April 11 on ABC.
Grace Kinstler’s Weight Loss; Hips Don’t Lie
People have been quite curious about Grace Kinstler’s weight loss since her entry into the American Idol. Let us tell you guys, during her junior high school year, she lost 100 pounds or 45.45 kg. But, how did she do that?
To tell you the truth, we don’t know how! After some research, we came across some websites that claimed the reason for Grace’s weight loss to be a Gastric Bypass Surgery, but we can’t be so sure, can we?
Source: Facebook
Whether it be through exercise, diet control, keto, or even surgery, she’s lost a lot of weight. What matters the most now is that she’s happy with her own body and is living a healthy life. Cheers to her!
[UPDATED] Until now, we didn’t know about the method Grace used for her weight loss. But, yesterday, she did a Q&A through her IG stories and when one fan asked, “Could you share how you lost weight in your junior year of high school?”, she revealed her secret.
I worked out a crap ton and ate clean.
Grace answers about her weight loss secret on her IG stories.
Well, now we know! Grace worked out and ate a balanced diet to lose 100 lbs.
Kinstler talks about how she maintains her confidence. Source: Instagram Story Grace ate clean and worked out to lose weight. Source: Instagram Story
Another one of her fans asked about the things she thinks about when maintaining her body confidence. She listed out,
You get one body, appreciate it, and love it.
Your body is your temple, not all temples look alike.
Hating on yourself consistently does nothing positive for you. The more love you give yourself, the healthier and happier you will be.
Kinstler on how she maintains her confidence.
Grace is Dating Joseph Wheatley
The up-and-coming singer Grace Kinstler is currently in a relationship with her boyfriend, Joseph Wheatley. The pair has been together since November 11, 2019. (That’s what their Facebook status says.)
Source: Instagram
Several months ago, they celebrated their very first anniversary and by the looks of it, they are doing pretty great together. She wrote, “A day late, but happy one year to my love.”
Their social media posts say it all, don’t they?
Talking about Joseph, he is a beatboxer. The Eastbourne native graduated from Wachusett Regional High School before attending Emmanuel College. Now, he currently studies M.A. in English at Northeastern University. He is also a part of one of the world’s premier co-ed A Cappella group, Pitch Slapped.
A National Vocal Champion
Grace Kinstler is a national vocal champion. Yes, you heard that right! During her sophomore years at Crystal Lake Central High School, she was a part of Classic Singer Magazine’s National Classical Singer Convention.
Kinstler competed against 1,300 singers from all around the country but, on May 28, 2016, she was able to bag the first place in Musical Theatre High School Division winning a cash prize of $1,200 and a scholarship to visit NY to partake in a private seminar with broadway directors and casting agents.
During an interview with Margaret Felice of CSMusic, Grace described the competition as a learning opportunity. She said,
My favorite part of them was watching a critiquing session for someone else and seeing them do things that they never knew they could do before. It’s such a wonderful thing to see! It was incredible to see all of the talented people there, and I was elated when I got to perform in the final-round concert with some of them.
Grace thought Classical Singer Magazine’s competition was a learning opportunity for her.
The Kinstler Family
The 20-year-old Grace Kinstler was born to her father, Mitchell Ian Kinstler, and mother, Sherry Kinstler. She has two siblings, both brothers, Jacob and Jordan Kinstler. She also has a pug named, Peanut.
Source: Sherry Kinstler’s Facebook
Remembring Dad
Grace’s dad, Mitchell passed away unexpectedly last year when she was 19 years old. Her dad was 64 at the time of his death (February 5, 2020). According to Chicago Tribune, her father died of gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
Last February, I was at school and my brother called me at 7 in the morning and said, ‘You should look for flights home. They just took dad to the hospital and he’s not breathing.’ It was very unexpected.
Kinstler recalls the demise of her dad.
She used to watch American Idol with her mom and dad, and always imagined that if she were to audition, her dad would always be there supporting her. Her dad would be “freaking out” if he knew about his daughter’s American Idol appearance, wouldn’t he?
It’s bittersweet for all of us to not have my dad here. But I just want to make him proud. And I think my mom is just so excited for me that in such a dark year, I got to have something to brighten it a little bit.
Grace remembers her dad.
Grace’s father loved Aretha Franklin. So, she sang Franklin’s A Natural Woman as a tribute to him.
I have a video from when I was younger; He videotaped me singing ‘Natural Woman.’ So I was like, it would be really cool to pay tribute to him by singing that song for the audition.
Grace remembers her dad.
Last Father’s Day, Grace took to her Instagram to share a few photos of her father alongside a long caption. She says she would give anything to turn back time just to hold his hand one last time.
I thought I’d know exactly what to write today, but I don’t. I never thought you’d be gone so soon, but I guess no one ever does. I would give anything to turn back the clock just to hold your hand one more time, give you one last hug and tell you how much I love you. Thank you for being so invested in my life, and for loving our family more than anyone I’ve ever known. The world would be a much better place if every kid had a father like you, and I wouldn’t have traded my 19 years with you for a lifetime with anyone else. I will find ways to celebrate you every day of my life. Thank you for giving us so much to celebrate. Happy Father’s Day, Dad
Kinstler’s Instagram caption during last year’s Father’s Day.
Source: Instagram
Grace has learned a lot of things from her father. But, after his demise, she has learned that it’s best to “live every moment as if it was your last.”
Take every opportunity, every chance, because you don’t know what chance you can get because of it. I have a habit of getting nervous, where I have literally blown auditions because my breath stops working and I hyperventilate. But I keep on thinking how much he believed in me and I try to believe that much in myself. I think he would be heartbroken if I gave up because I got sad, so it’s hard but it’s also extra motivation for me to keep going.
Kinstler says she learned one thing from her father’s demise.
Mitch would be proud of her!
Siblings
As already revealed, Grace has two siblings, both brothers. One of her brothers, Jordan is a sales associate at Used CNC Inc. He joined CNC in August 2016 following his graduation from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Conservation Biology. Jordan is currently in a relationship with Natalie Barabara. They’ve been together since July 18, 2020. (Facebook Relationship Status)
Source: Facebook
Jacob Kinstler, on the other hand, is an Investment Banking Associate at Lincoln International. He was an Associate Managing Director for the CIBS U.S. for more than two years from August 2017 to December 2019. As for his studies, he completed his bachelor’s in General Finance from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2014. He walked down the aisle with someone named Lauren on July 27, 2019.
Bonus
- Grace Kinstler’s father wanted her to have a career in music. He would sing Frank Sinatra‘s My Way at karaoke nights and always invited her to sing with him. He was the reason behind her music career.
He loved music, and he was what inspired me to get started in music,” Kinstler said. “So I really wish he was here to see [the audition], but I know that he would just be so ecstatic and so proud of me.
- She’s a music student at Berklee College of Music in Boston. She graduated from Crystal Lake Central High School.
- Kinstler has also sung the national anthem for Chicago Bulls and Chicago White Sox.
- Grace wore her father’s Leo necklace during her auditions.
- Her Spotify has 1,264 monthly listeners as of this writing.
- She has a total of 18 original songs under her belt. She has three singles, Ocean Kisses, Make a Choice, and The World Doesn’t Wait. Similarly, she has three EPs, Lavender and Remember the People.
- She’s featured on Near an Open Flame‘s songs, Why Not and Take My Back.
- Grace doesn’t have a favorite color just because she can’t decide what she likes.
- She likes monkeys and thinks they’re cute. She hopes to pet a monkey someday.
- She’s been playing the piano since 4 years old; in contrast, she only started singing since she was 6.
- Grace offers online voice lessons. On November 2, 2020, she shared the prices on her Facebook. For an hour, she takes $45 while for half an hour, she charges $25.
- On March 3, 2020, Grace took to her Facebook to report two fake accounts under her name. The same month, her partner also posted two photos to report the fake accounts.
- She was inspired by Christina Aguilera, Adele, and her Crystal Lake Central voice teacher, Michelle Hackman.
- Kinstler wants a career in music and on Broadway.
I try to make my songs, not to be cheesy, but I like to make them have a message, because I feel like some of the songs today are about these inappropriate things like sex, drugs, or alcohol, or I hear a lot of that on the radio. I don’t know, I have this idea that I want to change the standard of what music is and go back to storytelling.
Grace doesn’t like to add inappropriate things on her songs.
- In 2014, she won the National Youth Arts Award for Outstanding Lead Actress (Junior Division) for Hairspray.
- Her favorite color is Lavender.
- When she goes to Starbucks, she orders Jade Citrus Mint tea and Unsweetened black tea.
Some Photos of Grace
Grace with her dad and siblings during childhood. Source: Facebook 
Kinstler’s boyfriend, Wheatley with their pet dog. Source: Instagram 
Grace with her siblings during Halloween. Source: Facebook 
Grace wishing her mom a happy Mother’s Day. Source: Instagram 
The Kinstler family during Grace’s graduation. Source: Facebook 
Grace with her maternal grandma, Sue Smith. Source: Facebook Grace with her maternal grandpa. Source: Facebook Late Mitchell Kinstler with his sibling, Shari Kinstler. Source: Facebook 
Wedding day of Jacob and Lauren Kinstler. Source: Facebook Grace with her parents. Source: Instagram Grace with her boyfriend, Joseph. Source: Facebook
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