Josh “JDA” Davila was a standout during the twelfth season of American Idol (otherwise known as the Candice Glover season). The songster made it all the way to the Vegas Round before getting cut, but certainly made an impression on fans for his flamboyant personality and unique voice. During his time on ‘Idol,’ Josh, who went by “JDA” toyed with wearing women’s clothing (check out the amazing glitter heels he’s sporting in the ‘Idol’ clip below!) but has now transitioned into a woman.
“I am not just cross-dressing anymore,” Josh, who now goes by the name Jaidah Christina, told The TV Page. “I am not this gay, feminine boy. I am actually now on hormone replacement therapy. I have been for a year and a half.”
Jaidah is still singing (at a trans-friendly club in Chicago), but is nothing like the person she was when she performed on the reality show.
“I don’t even recognize the person that I used to be on ‘Idol,'” she said.
Jaidah began transitioning about six months after being eliminated on ‘American Idol.’
“Because I was born a boy, my genes and my body naturally creates testosterone,” she told the site. “So I need to put a stop to that. If this is something I want to do, then hormone replacement therapy is something I have to do for the rest of my life.”
Jaidah gives herself bi-weekly injections, but has not had any cosmetic surgeries to help her become a woman.
“If I had all the money in the world, I would definitely consider certain expensive surgeries that are available to us Trans women who want to feminize ourselves a little more,” she said. “But when I look in the mirror, I see someone very, very feminine already. I translate well to a woman.”
Jaidah said it took her a long time to get over her ‘Idol’ experience.
“I was totally anti-‘Idol’ after I was on it,” she told The TV Page. “I was traumatized psychologically by being on TV and having something in the palm of my hands and then having it taken away. That really messed me up for a while.”
While appearing on ‘Idol’ didn’t make Jaidah rich and famous, she can take comfort in the fact that even the Top 4 from that year– Candice Glover, Kree Harrison, Angie Miller and Amber Holcomb, didn’t exactly find much success after the show either.
“Sometimes these [shows] work out for people and sometimes they don’t,” Jaidah said. “In my case, it didn’t. I just don’t have the dedication and the patience to focus on that.”
Watch Jaidah (then known as “JDA”) perform on ‘American Idol’ in 2013:
(Photos: FOX, TheTVPage.com)
