Ryan Starr

one of the most talked-about performances of season 1

Originally auditioning under her given name (Tiffany Montgomery), Ryan was definitely one of the more memorable contestants of season 1. Ryan was one of the lucky ones, as she was signed by RCA after her stint on Idol. However, due to her disagreement with RCA regarding the type of music they wanted her to record versus the type that she wanted, she left RCA in 2005.

She ended up releasing a song exclusively through iTunes, "My Religion," which peaked at #1 on the iTunes chart. However, since then she has not followed up with much, except for "My Religion" and two other songs on "Curtain Call: New Songs from Past American Idol Finalists, Vol 1". She has been much more prolific via reality television, with major appearances on "The Surreal Life" and "Gimme My Reality Show!". She has not updated her official website or her MySpace, so I am not sure what she has been doing in the last couple of years. As usual when I find more information I will post it.


2007 magazine cover

sources:

http://www.ryanstarr.us/
myspace

Jim Verraros

Very early in the competition, America wasn't used to Simon's barbs, because Jim Verraros was claimed by Simon to have been voted through by the public out of sympathy after Simon blasted his semi-finals performance.

Jim was voted off the first week of the finals, but since has developed a respectable career. He is openly gay (he actually wasn't closeted on the show, but rather they just discouraged him from being completely open about it) and has appeared in the gay-themed "Eating Out" film franchise. He has released two albums with a third (Do Not Disturb) on the way. He is not currently signed with a label.

He also underwent quite a makeover:



He looks terrific. From his MySpace:

Secondly, a lot of people have asked me how I changed my body. Well, I'll let you all in on a little secret: there IS NO SECRET. I've been busting my ass for four months in the gym, weight training 6 days a week, increased my protein intake, and slowed down my cardio. There is no pill, no secret workout video or piece of shit machine that I bought on a late night infomercial--- nothing. Just hard work, and diet.

Why did I decide to change my body? Because for years I've had an awful struggle with my weight, my self image, and I got to the point where I was ready to change my life; because in the end it is a COMPLETE LIFE STYLE CHANGE. The reason why diets don't work for so many people is because they're not willing to commit and go the distance; or they give up too soon when they feel they've reached a plateau or don't see the results they want to see in a week. It takes SO MUCH HARD WORK and commitment. You have to be mentally and physically ready to devote a lot of time to yourself and your body. Plain and simple.

Preach!

Tamyra Gray

Why not start with the woman who started off American Idol...Tamyra Gray.

Tamyra was my favorite contestant throughout the first season, and as corny as it sounds I still remember her first performance. While just about every contestant from season 1 would have struggled to even make Hollywood (in fact, I imagine a few of them may have been highlighted as "bad auditions" had they auditioned in the past few years) but Tamyra was one that would still be able to hold her own even today.

So what happened? Idol was still a baby, and didn't have the infrastructure to promote more than one budding star. They obviously did quite well with Kelly, but it seems that Tamyra was left behind by the producers. Perhaps if she had showed up in a later season there would have been enough capital for them to throw their weight behind her. That said, had Tamyra not been in the first season, there may not have been later seasons (yes, her presence was that critical to the show's success).



So, what has she been up to? She was signed by Simon Fuller after the show, and released her first album, The Dreamer. Unfortunately it didn't move enough copies to please TPTB, and she was dropped. Since then her focus has moved to film and Broadway; she had a recurring role on Boston Public (as a student with a talent for singing, natch), and played Priya in the short-run musical Bombay Dreams and Mimi on the iconic Rent. She made an videotaped appearance on a season 7 elimination show (was it the Andrew lloyd Webber episode? That would make the most sense...) where she spoke about her experience on Broadway. She was also debuting a pretty different hairstyle as well.


photo credit: http://godblessthedreamer.typepad.com/

At the moment, she is recording a new album and looking for a label. As with every post here, as I find more information I will post it.