American Idol Contestant: I Love Coming Home to Kinnelon

She may be gracing a stage in Hollywood now as she compete's on FOX's hit singing show "American Idol," performing before three celebrity judges and an audience of millions, but while she was growing up in Kinnelon, Elise Testone was often performing for the trees.

"I loved growing up in , I miss it so much," Testone said in an interview with Tri-Boro Patch Tuesday. "I was really into hiking and all the trails and lakes around the reservoir. I had some friends where we would hike and we would play guitar, kind of hippie-ish."

Testone, a 2001 graduate, attended college at Coastal Carolina University and said she's lived in "the Carolinas" ever since. She is a professional musician and a vocal coach at a rock-and-roll school. She has performed in various locations and had the opportunity to open shows for well-known performers, such as Snoop Dogg, as well as had well-known performers open for her, including the "Love Song" singer Sara Bareilles.

But it all began in Kinnelon and with help from her friend and mentor, Greg Santos, another KHS graduate.

"I would come over to his house and I would make harmony with him and write some lyrics. I was really influenced by his songwriting ability," she said.

Testone said she was constantly singing, not only outside of school but in the classrooms as well. 

"I would always hear songs in my head, like all the time," she said. "I always got in trouble for singing all the time. So I would kind of have a hard time concentrating."

To avoid getting in trouble, Testone said she would often take the bathroom pass and go out into the hallway singing. KHS Health teacher Maureen Nussman remembered this.

"She had/has a very kind heart and did sing around the hallways," she said.

One of Nussman's clearest memories of Testone in high school was a time when she was singing in the hallway and former custodian Tom Jones, also known as "Jonesy," heard her and began to sing back. Testone said the two began singing to each other when they would pass by in the hallway and at one point, Jones said to her, "Oh my God, I would just love so much to sing on the stage with someone."

"Elise asked him to sing in the talent show when she was a senior. How many students would do that? It was awesome!" Nussman said.

Testone said she and Jones sang two songs together, "Make the World Go Away" by Elvis Presley and "The End of the World" by Skeeter Davis.

"Half the school showed up and they were screaming 'Jonesy' and it was just so cool," Testone said.

Testone also played several instruments while in Kinnelon, including the drums, clarinet and guitar. But when she was not practicing her talent, she was also a hard worker and held several local jobs, including at the and at . Taste of Reality Owner and Councilman Jim Freda said Testone's singing often carried over at work.

"She sang all the time. We (all the employees) used to yell at her all the time to shut up and work. We would joke she spent more time turning up the radio, singing and dancing than she did flipping eggs and making sandwiches-although she claims she made the best Taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwiches in Kinnelon," he said.

Freda said Testone's sister, Jenna, and mother, Luanne, also worked at the deli and that at some points during the four years Testone worked there, all three worked together.

"Jenna just kept telling Elise to stop singing and Luanne, who is obviously Elise's No.1 fan, kept telling her to sing louder. I don't think Elise heard either one of them because she was singing. She could create a song out of anything. If you ordered a turkey sandwich, she would sing a song about the turkey sandwich," Freda said.

Testone may have sang about turkey, but that was not her favorite signature sandwich from the deli.

"I like the Mike's Delight," she said.

Testone only has the opportunity to visit Kinnelon five or six times a year, mostly around holidays, she said. But when she does come home, she likes to take advantage of the natural surroundings, go hiking and visit some of her favorite spots, like the rock behind Sabey's Beach in Fayson Lakes. She has fond memories of taking a boat out on the lake to the island that sits in the water with her friends, many of whom she still keeps in touch with.

"My favorite part is just driving home, around the reservoir," she said.

Growing up in such a small town, Testone said she is amazed and "overwhelmed" at the opportunity she has to compete on the show.

"I didn't know a lot about the show before, honestly, because I'm just so submerged in working and I don't have a tv, but I really gained a lot of respect for the show and the process and everyone I've met through it," she said.

She was not able to discuss details about the show and how far she has made it, but said she is proud of herself so far.

"I'm really enjoying it," she said. "I keep crying randomly thinking about what's happening just because I worked so hard my whole life and these are tests that I know I can pass and I feel really good about that."