Joshua Performs in Westlake

Source: KPLCTV It was all Josh all day, and for Southwest Louisiana, that's a good thing. Westlake's home grown American Idol had a lot to say... "Oh my god, this is crazy…" And why wouldn't he? There's been an outpouring of support from the community. One of his young fans, Cierra, says "I'd like to give a big welcome to Joshua Ledet." And that support is something that Josh knows, and is grateful for. Speaking to his fans, Josh says "I am so grateful, truly grateful. I love each and every one of you guys. Without you guys, I would be nothing. You guys give me the strength to move on. This week and everything you guys said positively about me, all the fan-mail and everything just gave me that boost to go out and step on that Idol stage. So y'all keep voting for me!" Neither the parade nor the concert could have been possible without the help of numerous volunteers. One of those volunteers, Rhonda Colletta, explains the process. "We had to show up and they gave us our orders and what we needed to do, and we went to where we needed to go and we helped hand out bands and stuff like that and we assisted with different people." While the crowd may have been waiting for Josh, his opening acts held their own. First, his cousin Brandon Ledet, then, Grammy Award winning artist Terrence Simien-- who couldn't resist throwing Mardi Gras beads to the crowd. Mardi Gras seemed to be the prevailing theme of the homecoming, besides Josh Ledet of course. Even so, Director of the SWLA Convention and Visitors Bureau Shelly Johnson says American Idol called the shots. "American Idol decided everything they wanted to do and then we put it together and made it happen. So that was the most important thing. It was a lot of what they wanted to do to showcase Josh in Westlake." In the end, American Idol was pleased with the performance, and as Shelly says, "I think they thought it was something very, very different."