Getting to Know the Top 24: Part 2

CHRIS RICHARDSON
Age: 22
Hometown: Chesapeake, VA
Audition City: New York
Details: Is a supervisor at a restaurant; he was born in Belgium into a military family and performs at local clubs.
Video link

20 Questions
Favorite male pop artists? Jason Mraz, JT, James Brown, Michael Jackson
Favorite female pop artists? Early 90’s Mariah Carey, Christina Aguilera
Formal singing training? No.
Other talents? Guitar, drums, piano, drawings, songwriter, poetry.
If you don’t make it on American Idol, what will you do? Continue pursuing a music career.
Personal goals? To achieve things I thought were out of reach because of the probabilities (music, career, football).
What album would your friends be surprised you own? Elvis Presley.
Your American idol? My Pops and Mom.
Any rituals or things you do before you perform? Breathe, maybe go to the bathroom.
Most embarrassing moments? n/a
Proudest moment? Making the top 24 out of a lot of people.
Your definition of an American Idol? An individual, someone who has their own portrayal of who they are and people recognize the separation.
Favorite judge and why? No favorite, like ‘em all.
What would people be surprised to learn about you? Very self-conscious about myself, but hide it well.
How has this changed your life? I don’t know yet, but hopefully it’s gonna do something for me.
Lucky charms? Rubber bands (2 on my right wrist).
Your heroes? God, my family.
Your toughest obstacle? Trying to get completely inside the music industry door.
Do you think the audition process was fair? Really don’t know what’s fair and unfair in this competition b/c there’s so much talent here and everywhere else, it’s hard to choose everyone. But as for the people here, awesome choices.
If you win, who will you thank first? GOD

CHRIS SLIGH
Age: 28
Hometown: Greenville, SC
Audition City: Birmingham
Details: Is the son of missionaries; spent 10 years with his family in Germany; since attending Bob Jones University, he has traveled and performed with the band Half Past*Forever.
Video link

20 Questions
Favorite male pop artists? Freddie Mercury, Ben Folds, Adam Duritz, Paul McCartney, Paul Meany, Jon Forman, Blake Lewis, Rudy Cardenas
Favorite female pop artists? Sheryl Crow, Imogen Heap, Fiona Apple, Gina Glocksen
Formal singing training? Yes — 3 credits shy of degree in vocal performance.
Other talents? Songwriter, great kisser, basketball, production.
If you don’t make it on American Idol, what will you do? Travel with my band.
Personal goals? To own a record label and produce # 1 records.
What album would your friends be surprised you own? Backstreet Boys "Black & Blue."
Your American idol? Besides me — Bo Bice or Blake Lewis.
Any rituals or things you before you perform? Not really — I pee before going on stage.
Most embarrassing moments? None, really — I don’t get embarrassed.
Proudest moment? Wedding day.
Your definition of an American Idol? Someone who can make great music.
Favorite judge and why? Simon—he’s my Yin AND Yang.
What would people be surprised to learn about you? I’m chubby.
How has this changed your life? It hasn’t yet, except to make me poorer b/c of taking off so much work.
Lucky charms? Yes, they’re magically delicious.
Your heroes? Jesus, my dad, Adam Duritz, Jon Forman.
Toughest obstacle? Not listening to music growing up.
Was the audition process fair? Yes.
If you win, who will you thank first? My wife for her amazing sacrifices.

GINA GLOCKSEN
Age: 22
Hometown: Naperville, IL
Audition City: Memphis
Details: Works as a dental assistant; performs in a cover band; tried out for Idol last season and made it to Day 4 of the Hollywood Round.
Video link

20 Questions
Favorite male pop artists? U2, Green Day
Favorite female pop artists? Celine Dion, K.T. Tunstall, Kelly Clarkson, Sheryl Crow
Formal singing training? Classical in high school.
Other talents? Flute, piano.
If you don’t make it on American Idol, what will you do? Continue to pursue a singing career with original music
Personal goals? To be rich and famous!
What album would your friends be surprised you own? Rent
Your American idol? Kelly Clarkson
Any rituals or things you do before you perform? I like to floss my teeth!
Most embarrassing moments? Oh geez … I was about — I won’t tell you how old I was — but I had a habit of peeing in my pants.
Proudest moment? Having the courage to bounce back from Idol rejection.
Your definition of an American Idol? Someone who will follow their dream and will anything to succeed.
Favorite judge and why? Simon, he tells the truth and is always right!
What would people be surprised to learn about you? I have 3 tattoos and I have 3 cats!
How has this changed your life? More confidence on stage and I’ve never been away from home.
Lucky charms? A ton. 1) A troll that’s always in my pocket, 2) “Pickle” (a little lizard), 3) “Baboo” (an ugly doll) … to name a few!
Heroes? My mom and sisters.
Toughest obstacle? Dealing with death of friends and family.
Was the audition process fair? No, not really!
If you win, who will you thank first? My family.

HALEY SCARNATO
Age: 24
Hometown: San Antonio, TX
Audition City: San Antonio
Details: Recently became engaged; has been performing as a freelance singer since she was 15; considers Celine Dion her hero.
Video link

20 Questions
Favorite male pop artists? Michael Jackson
Favorite female pop artists? Christina Aguilera
Formal singing training? Yes. I had a voice teacher and took musical production training.
Other talents? I’m a “singer who can dance” which means move.
If you don’t make it on American Idol, what will you do? Keep singing and pursuing my career.
Personal goals? Career in music and live my life fully through God.
What album would your friends be surprised you own? Elvis Presley
Your American idol? Celine Dion – Of course.
Any rituals or things you do before you perform? Pray to God and spray my throat with Entertainer’s Secret.
Most embarrassing moments? Falling down on stage.
Proudest moment? Finding the man I am marrying.
Your definition of an American Idol? All around talent with awesome attitude that shines through performances.
Favorite judge and why? Simon, because normally he is the most honest.
What would people be surprised to learn about you? Not afraid to be goofy.
How has this changed your life? Completely overnight – it just motivates me to succeed.
Lucky charms? No.
Heroes? Celine Dion, my mom.
Toughest obstacle? Getting through my uncle’s death and both my grandpas’ deaths
Was the audition process fair? Yes
If you win, who will you thank first? God, of course.

JARED COTTER
Age: 25
Hometown: Coram, NY
Audition City: New York
Details: Currently lives in West Orange, NJ; has a degree in business management from Five Towns College, Long Island.
Video link

20 Questions
Favorite male pop artists? John Legend, Stevie Wonder
Favorite female pop artists? Beyonce, Corinne Bailey Rae
Formal singing training? Yes, vocal class, private lessons, chorus.
Other talents? Basketball — had a basketball scholarship.
If you don’t make it on American Idol, what will you do? Continue in songwriting.
Personal goals? To be successful and make myself and my family proud.
What album would your friends be surprised you own? Pearl Jam "Ten."
Your American idol? My dad and my mom.
Any rituals or things you do before you perform? I jump up and down.
Most embarrassing moments? Falling on my back from slipping on ice on a date.
Proudest moment? Graduating from college.
Your definition of an American Idol? Someone people can look up to/want to be like.
Favorite judge and why? I like all three of them for what they have been able to accomplish.
What would people be surprised to learn about you? n/a
How has this changed your life? My life is totally different. No job, people know me – it's great!
Lucky charms? No.
Heroes? Jesus and my dad.
Toughest obstacle? Trying to make it in the music industry.
Was the audition process fair? It was fair but just too much waiting.
If you win, who will you thank first? My mother for telling me to audition.

JORDIN SPARKS
Age: 17
Hometown: Glendale, AZ
Audition City: Seattle
Details: Began singing when she was only 18 months old; won the “Arizona Idol” contest; her favorite band is Something Corporate.
Video link

20 Questions
Favorite male pop artists? John Mayer & Justin Timberlake
Favorite female pop artists? Christina Aguilera
Formal singing training? No.
Other talents? I can do accents really well.
If you don’t make it on American Idol, what will you do? Keep pursuing music.
Personal goals? My goals are to tell meaningful stories through songs and touch people's lives ... and hopefully make a living doing it.
What album would your friends be surprised you own? Blake Shelton
Your American idol? Tony Dungy because he’s gone through so much and still holds his head high.
Any rituals or things you do before you perform? I pray and breathe.
Most embarrassing moments? N/A
Proudest moment? Winning the “Overall Spotlight Winner” for the GMA Academy in 2004. And making the top 24 out of how many?
Your definition of an American Idol? Someone people of all ages can look up to.
Favorite judge and why? Simon, because he's brutally honest and thinks I'm "sweet."
What would people be surprised to learn about you? How many genres of music I love! I love to sing it too! And I'm a football and basketball freak! Fav players? Larry Fitzgerald (Cardinals), Steve Nash, Amare Stoudemire, Leandro Barbosa & Shawn Marion! (Phx Suns), Tiki Barber (NYG).
How has this changed your life? It hasn't that much ... yet.
Lucky charms? My cross pin with a music note.
Heroes? My heroes are just everyday people who work hard, are honest and have integrity.
Toughest obstacle? Trying to get through math class.
Was the audition process fair? Yes. Everyone knows what they're getting into.
If you win, who will you thank first? God, mom, dad.

AIKEN TO GET BACK AT THE TABLOIDS

According to MSNBC, Clay Aiken is so miffed about what he says are fabricated tales and pics involving his sex life that he’s invited fans to do a little creative writing about him. "It seems over the past few weeks, the tabloids and gossip mongers have had their hands full coming up with new and exciting 'candals' for me to be a part of. Yet, for all of their efforts to be on the 'cutting edge' and the forefront of bull---- journalism, it seems that some of them may be running out of ideas and resorting to recycling and re-hashing some of their older tall tales," Aiken recently wrote on his blog.

"With this in mind, we thought maybe we would try to give them a finger... er... a hand." The singer then invites fans to "Build-Your-Own-Scandal." "Come up with the most outlandish story you can that places me (either alone or with others close to me) in a really juicy, tawdry, scandalous, shameful story. Then, use any photos, videos, audio clips of me that you can find along with your favorite multimedia enhancing/'doctoring' program (like a Photoshop or a sound/video editor) to create your 'evidence'! Maybe you have 'pictures' of me being 'abducted by oversized turnips' or 'video' of me 'dancing with a three-legged gorilla.' Be creative!"

e-mail Idol Addict
© 2007