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Sandra May McIntyre, known professionally as Paula Goodspeed (born July 4th, 1978 - November 11th, 2008) was a contestant on Season 5 of American Idol.

Audition[]

Paula auditioned in Austin. She sang "Proud Mary" by Tina Turner. All three judges voted "no", eliminating her from the competition.

Death[]

On November 11th, 2008, Paula committed suicide via a drug overdose outside Paula Abdul's home in Sherman Oaks, California.

Trivia[]

  • Paula was a fan of Paula Abdul, even to the point of her changing her name to Paula Goodspeed at age 16 and modeling her singing and appearance after her.
  • There was some controversy that arose after Paula's death when Abdul said that she objected to Goodspeed's audition when she was aware of Goodspeed's prior stalker-like behaviour, but the executive producers Ken Warwick and Nigel Lythgoe denied being aware of her fears and they would not have put her in danger if they knew.
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