Natalie Burge

Natalie performed "Crazy" by Patsy Cline; Randy and Paula enjoyed it, but Simon gave his patented criticism-that-isn't-really-criticism-but-really-is-criticism. Or something.

It doesn't look as if Natalie's official site has been updated recently. It seems that after the show she did some backup singing and dancing as well, and she made an appearance in the movie "Eating Out," so perhaps she struck up a friendship with fellow contestant Jim Verraros?

Also, there is another Natalie Burge out there, who is a blonde 20-something singer, part of the band The Sirens. However, as far as I can tell it is a different Natalie. I will do some more sleuthing and report back.

sources:
http://www.natalieburge.com/resume.htm

Rodesia Eaves

Rodesia's arrangement of Daydream Believer was actually quite promising and original...a soulful take on a bubblegum pop song. Unfortunately her performance...well, I'll let Rodesia's MySpace say it:

she had to sing “Daydream Believer” By the Monkees on T.V which did nothing for her vocally.

Which is putting it nicely. According to her MySpace (she now goes by the name of R.E. Vintage) she is still looking to get her foot in the door of the music industry.

Here she is singing "Bed," a song which suits her much better.



sources:
www.myspace.com/rodesiaeavesvoice
http://www.youtube.com/user/kissanangel55

Adriel Herrera

The name probably doesn't ring any bells for the average Idol fan, but after his audition, Simon labeled him as the one to beat: "If I could choose anyone we’ve seen in this competition, he’s the one ... I promise you." Well, he had a competent semi-final performance, but didn't make it through. He was invited to participate in the Wild Card episode, but turned it down, as he felt that the show didn't give him the artistic freedom he needed. I can only guess, but I am pretty sure had he turned in a decent performance he would have been sent to the finals. Oh well. Hopefully he is at peace with his decision. Idol was definitely cheesy in the earlier seasons, but the past few seasons have seemed to allow the contestants a bit more creative license; Blake Lewis and David Cook in particular have shown that you don't have to sing a generic Motown song or "Against All Odds" (God forbid) every week.

After the show, he was briefly in the band Asphalt Apology from 2003-2005. I'm not sure what he's up to at the moment. If you know (or if you are Adriel!) please drop me a line.


photo credit: Jose Raul Castillo (photo circa 2007-ish)

sources:
http://www.joseraulcastillo.com/surviving-the-fame-machine/
http://www.myspace.com/asphaltapology

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.

Greetings

Hello everyone,

thanks for reading this blog (although I'm sure no one is reading at this particular point!). I hope to make this blog a great resource for those American Idol fans that want to find out what happened to the contestants that the show seemed to forget, but we did not.

Enjoy!