Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
LOS ANGELES — Dia Frampton has the voice — the St. George native came up short in season one of the singing competition TV show, but she's made a living out of proving people wrong.
She's now in L.A., living, working and making her way to the top, and it's safe to say her success has spanned the globe already.
"I've just been working as much as possible," Frampton said. "My album came out two years ago, so I've been touring on that and doing a lot of stuff in Asia."
Frampton is half-Korean, and audiences in Asia love her. She plays sold-out shows in places like Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand.
"They're all sitting attentively, arms folded. Maybe they're singing, smiling, but they're never like shouting or booing, or loud or (taking) pictures, so Thailand is very nice," she said.
It's a weird business, people think that I live in a mansion in Beverly Hills and I live with four roommates in Koreatown, still struggling to pay rent, and how much is the electricity bill this month?
–Dia Frampton
KSL-TV met Frampton in the Hollywood Hills at a hotel, just a few feet away from the mansions of the stars, a place she'd like to call home one day.
"It's a weird business. People think that I live in a mansion in Beverly Hills, and I live with four roommates in Koreatown, still struggling to pay rent, and how much is the electricity bill this month?" Frampton said.
Right now she's working on her second solo album and picking up a new talent.
"I started acting a little bit; I have an acting workshop after this," Frampton said. "Tell you a secret: I'm awful."
Frampton also misses her home state.
"I think Utah is the hidden gem sometimes," she said.
It still serves as her inspiration. She visited Big Cottonwood Canyon last fall and wound up recording some tracks in a cabin with friends.
"I do miss Utah. I think Utah is a beautiful place. I'm in L.A. right now and I do enjoy L.A., but if I didn't have to live here — and I say 'have to,' literally — I'd move somewhere else," Frampton said. "I really love Utah."
Frampton is still working and has a ways to go with acting, but is still a very grounded person — she stuck around after her interview to recommend some of her favorite Thai restaurants before jetting off to her acting class.
