If there’s a sentimental favorite early in Season 12 of American Idol, it’s Lazaro Arbos. We were introduced to the 21-year-old from Naples, Fla., by way of Cuba, at the end of Idol’s Chicago audition episode.
We haven’t seen much of Josh “Jada” Davila on Season 12 of American Idol. But he was featured during Hollywood Week as a member of perhaps the most dysfunctional group Idol producers created.
Josh Holiday is one of the products of American Idol’s small-town tour, launched for the first time in Season 12. He says a friend invited him to go along and audition when the Idol bus stopped in Bowling Green, Kentucky.
You have to figure Johnny Keyser is one of the male singers on American Idol most likely to make the semifinals in Season 12. After all, he came within a whisker of doing it last year.
Jimmy Smith is among a handful of Season 12 American Idol contestants who have already released music. Head to iTunes and you can download his seven-track 2011 CD “Stay Right Here.”
Nicki Minaj has made a habit of doling out nicknames on American Idol. None has caught on quite as well as the Turbinator.
Lots of Season 12 Idol contestants say they grew up around musical influences. That was certainly the case for 21-year-old David Willis of Mount Dora, Fla.
Elijah Liu refers to himself as “a late bloomer.” But even though he’s only been singing seriously for about two years, he’s accomplished a great deal.
For a guy who advanced to Hollywood on a unanimous vote, Devin Velez describes his American Idol audition as quite nerve-wracking. He performed one song and felt good about it. The judges asked for another.
A year ago, Curtis Finch Jr. made it to the group round in Las Vegas on American Idol before being cut. His miscalculation might have been performing in the same group with Joshua Ledet, who went on to finish third in Season 11.
