Overview

• Asked which reality show she could win, Palmer told host Sean Evans she "would've been an American Idol" if it were the right time and era.
• She laid out an audience-grabbing narrative — Chicago roots, a singer mom, a church background — saying contestants once needed that kind of storyline.
• Palmer said she would have been "up there" with Fantasia Barrino, though not in Barrino's season because "she would've beaten me."
• She acted out a finale moment with a tearful riff and the line, "Thank you. You know, I always thought I could be an American Idol."
• As context, Palmer was recruited for 2003's American Juniors but didn’t reach the televised semifinals, later releasing music on major labels before launching Big Bosses Entertainment and issuing Big Boss (2023) and Just Keke (June 2025).