Monday, December 29, 2008

Keeping up with John Stevens

Idol's signature red-haired crooner John Stevens made the show's third season popular for reasons he probably would not like to remember. After generating such memorable performances as "Crockodile Rock" and "King of the Road," the then-16-year-old delivered spectacles that would make Sanjaya jealous.

But John's vocal talents were the kind that could not been heard on an Elton John track, and so he was given a bad wrap while on the show. Still he was able to finish sixth, which is a testament to his appeal to many across the country. This led to a record deal with Maverick Records in 2005, courtesy of which he released his debut album Red. The album, which was produced by David Foster, did well enough to make it into Billboard's Top 10 Jazz albums chart but failed to muster much in the form of sales, totaling roughly 21k copies since its release.

John's debut single was "Come Fly With Me," a cover of Frank Sinatra's 1957 hit. He also covered Maroon 5's "This Love" and The Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere."

After departing Maverick, John joined his fellow Season 3 alum Leah LaBelle at Berklee College of Music in Boston where his is now a student and should graduate in 2010.

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