Diana DeGarmo
Template:Infobox musical artist 2 Diana Nicole DeGarmo (born June 16, 1987 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American singer and Broadway actress. She finished in second place behind winner Fantasia Barrino on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series American Idol, narrowly missing the win by about 2% (approximately 1.3 million votes) out of over 65 million votes.[1] At 16, DeGarmo was the youngest contestant among the set of finalists in the third season; she was a junior at Shiloh High School in Snellville, Georgia.
Biography
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, DeGarmo has been singing publicly from a young age, including at the 1997 Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards, and in stage productions of Annie and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Atlanta. As a third grade student, she was a Coca-Cola Kid during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The next year, she sang at Opryland USA during the Christmas holiday season. In 2002, she was named Miss Teen Georgia and was a finalist on the NBC talent search program America's Most Talented Kid. At ten years of age, DeGarmo was one of the "Cartoon Network Kids". She has also appeared in various telefilms during her childhood. DeGarmo is niece to Eddie DeGarmo of DeGarmo & Key.[2] DeGarmo is best known for being the runner-up in the third season of FOX's hit reality show American Idol. She performed on the "American Idols Live" tour with the other season three Idol finalists during the summer of 2004, which included a show in Singapore in October 2004. She toured independently in 2005, at a few venues in order to promote her debut album, Blue Skies.
American Idol
DeGarmo took part in the third season of American Idol in 2004, finishing second after a close race with winner Fantasia Barrino. DeGarmo was known for her power-house performances,[citation needed] as well as her ability to perform songs with ease at such a young age, as she was only 16 years old at the time of the show.
She started off as the first person to perform in the top 32, and was the 2nd person voted into the finals, after eventual winner Fantasia Barrino. However, she ended up in the bottom 3 in 3 of the first 5 weeks. The surprising thing was, starting from the top 7, she never got into the bottom 3 or 2, gradually becoming one of the front runners in the competition following the elimination of Jennifer Hudson and Latoya London.
Performances
A record of what DeGarmo sang on the show can be found as follows:
- Top 32 Group 1: "I Got The Music In Me" by Kiki Dee
- Top 12 Soul Week: "Think" by Aretha Franklin
- Top 11 Country Week: "A Broken Wing" by Martina McBride - Bottom 3
- Top 10 Motown Week: "Do You Love Me" by The Contours
- Top 9 Elton John Week: "I'm Still Standing" by Elton John - Bottom 3
- Top 8 Movie Week: "My Heart Will Go On" by Celine Dion - Bottom 3
- Top 7 Barry Manilow Week: "One Voice" by Barry Manilow - Highest Votes
- Top 6 Gloria Estefan Week: "Turn The Beat Around" by Gloria Estefan - Highest Votes
- Top 5 Special: "Think"
- Top 5 Big Band Week: "Someone to Watch Over Me" by Ella Fitzgerald, "Get Happy" by Judy Garland - Highest Votes
- Top 4 Disco Week: "This Is It" by Melba Moore, "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)" by Donna Summer & Barbra Streisand - Highest Votes
- Top 3 Special: "Turn The Beat Around"
- Top 3 Judges Choice: "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Marvin Gaye & Tammi Terrell, "Because You Loved Me" by Celine Dion, "Don't Cry Out Loud" by Melissa Manchester - Highest Votes
- Top 2 Finale Week: "I Believe", "No More Tears (Enough Is Enough)", "Don't Cry Out Loud"
Music
DeGarmo released a single, "Dreams," on June 29 2004. The song was co-written by songwriter Chris Braide who also co-wrote "This Is the Night" for Clay Aiken. It includes two other songs: her version of "I Believe" co-written by former Idol contestant Tamyra Gray and a remake of Melissa Manchester's "Don't Cry Out Loud".
DeGarmo's debut album, titled Blue Skies, was released on December 7, 2004, to opening week sales of 47,000. The album came in at #52 in the Billboard chart. As of August 2007, sales are at 164,000 copies.[3] Her single "Emotional" again co-written by Chris Braide, Desmond Child and Andreas Carlsson, peaked at #54 on the Mediabase Pop Chart.
DeGarmo appeared on the soundtrack for the 2005 Disney movie Ice Princess with the song "Reaching for Heaven", written by Desmond Child.
DeGarmo began recording a pop/R&B album in 2007,[4] however she backed out of the project after it took a detour she did not want to take.[5] After filming CMT's Gone Country in late 2007, DeGarmo decided to return to her country roots and relocated to Nashville. She is now signed to John Rich's production company and currently recording a country-pop album in Nashville.[6] The song "Right Back Where We Ended", written by DeGarmo with Keith Stegall and Shanna Crooks for Gone Country, will be included on the album.
Musical Theatre
As a child, DeGarmo performed in productions of Annie and Joseph and the Amazing Techicolor Dreamcoat in Atlanta, Georgia. She made her stage debut in a lead role as Maria in a San Jose production of West Side Story in November 2005. Auditions for Hairspray and Brooklyn: The Musical followed shortly thereafter. Signing on initially for a four-month run, DeGarmo made her Broadway debut in Hairspray as nerdy character Penny Pingleton in February 2006, impressing audiences with her comedic prowess. She also performed the lead role of Brooklyn in the national tour of Brooklyn: The Musical in the summer of 2006. This production featured DeGarmo alongside one of her idols,Melba Moore. DeGarmo returned to Broadway's Hairspray in September 2006 for a second engagement of over five months, wrapping up her Hairspray stints in February 2007. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in April 2007.
DeGarmo also performed in a musical concert, In Your Dreams, in early October 2006 for a new musical said to have a similar plot to High School Musical.
Other activities
In late 2007/ early 2008, DeGarmo has been doing television ads for the Zaxby's restaurant chain.
Awards and charts
DeGarmo's first single, "Dreams", debuted at #2 in record sales and went #1 on the Billboard US Singles Sales Chart.
On September 17, 2005, DeGarmo received the Horizon Award at the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame Awards ceremony. The award recognizes Georgia artists on the path to successful and lengthy careers.
Discography
| Diana Degarmo discography | |
|---|---|
| Studio albums | 1 |
| Singles | 2 |
| B-sides | 2 |
| Tours | 1 |
The following is a complete discography of every album and single released by American pop music artist Diana Degarmo.
Albums
| Album information | Singles |
|---|---|
Blue Skies
|
|
Album singles
| Year | Title | Chart positions | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S Billboard Hot 100 | U.S Single Sales | Mediabase Pop | Canada | |||
| 2004 | "Dreams" | 14 | 1 | — | 2 | Blue Skies |
| "Emotional" | — | — | 54 | — | ||
References
- ^ USAtoday.com (05-27-2004). "31.4 million tune in to American Idol".
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Anthony K. Valley (05-25-2004). "American Idol Contestants Ties to the Christian Church".
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Unknown parameter|accessmonthday=ignored (help); Unknown parameter|accessyear=ignored (|access-date=suggested) (help) - ^ Chris Daughtry | Photo 1 | 'American' Gladiators | Fall Music 2006 | Entertainment Weekly
- ^ All Grown Up and Finding Her Way, Mary Colurso, April 27, 2007, accessed 7/10/2007
- ^ Diana DeGarmo Moves to Nashville, Craig Shelburne, February 15, 2008, accessed 3/26/08
- ^ Catching Up With Past American Idol Finalists, Fred Bronson, March 14, 2008, accessed 3/26/08
External links
