Here are profiles and links to music or videos of the nine guys who received golden tickets when American Idol visited Atlanta.
Antonio Wheeler
You won’t remember this guy as Antonio Wheeler. You’ll remember him as Skii-bo-ski. And the look on Simon’s face when he walked into the audition room was priceless. Maybe it was the fact that Antonio’s nickname was misspelled on the shirt he wore into the audition room. We’ll assume Simon didn’t know about Antonio’s brushes with the law at that point. Anyway, Antonio, 23, of Orlando, Fla., sang “Heard It Through the Grapevine” well enough to get a golden ticket, but was axed from the competition on the first day at the Kodak Theater. Links: Go here to watch his audition again. Go here to listen to a song on a Skiiboski MySpace Music page he apparently hasn’t visited in two years.
Ben Honeycutt
One of this year’s most promising male contestants, Ben, 23, committed Idol’s cardinal sin on group night, forgetting the words to “Carry On My Wayward Son.” He was part of Pheonix, a group of five individually talented members who had trouble pulling it together on group day, especially after one member quit. Go here for an interesting story on Ben’s experience during group day. Identified as a worship leader on Idol’s blue bar, this Fort Oglethorpe, Ga., resident spent five years as a member of the group Candlefuse, which has an album and an EP available on iTunes. The group disbanded at the end of 2008. In a MySpace blog, Ben wrote that he planned to pursue a solo career with an acoustic/pop/R&B/Timbaland/awesome kind of sound. Candlefuse classified its music as rock/pop/alternative. Links: Go here to watch Ben do a cover of “Use Somebody.” You can find several more covers on YouTube. Go here to hear some Candlefuse music.
Bryan Walker
This 26-year-old is the police officer from Sevierville, Tenn., who was featured during the Atlanta audition episode. Bryan said he loves his job, but tried out for Idol because he couldn’t pass up a chance to pursue his dream. In his Idol video, he says he’s performed gospel music for years and was previously a member of an a cappella group. In fact, he says a mellow solo he once did with that group changed the mood of the audience and showed him “the potential of music.” He also beatboxes and plays the drums. Link: Go here to watch Bryan’s audition again.
Colin Benward
On MySpace, Colin describes himself as a “fourth generation worship minister and visionary, who lives to help liberate people’s lives through passionate music and authentic relationship.” And the Benward family has a rich musical history, according to this story in the Williamson Herald. In addition to performing solo, Colin has been a member of a band named Waterlow, which has its own MySpace page and classifies its music as rock / alternative / ambient. He says his most memorable musical experience came when he traveled to Africa and sang in the slums of Kenya with other high school students. Links: Go here for Colin’s MySpace music; here to listen to the music of Waterlow.
David Gowryluk
A 29-year-old from Cottleville, Missouri, David performs as Table Music, though I’m not sure whether that’s a group or a one-man show. It could be the latter judging from the list of instruments he plays:guitar, mandolin, tin whistles, accordion, bodhran and bouzouki. He has a sense of humor, too. Next to what his music sounds like on MySpace, he writes: “all the good cheeses mixed into one hearty soup.” More seriously, his music is classified as folk/acoustic/ambient and he told Idol he thought the fact that not too many artists do “Dave Matthews type music” on the show might set him apart. He also made it to Hollywood in season eight. Link: Go here to hear Table Music.
Deneco Pittman
This 19-year-old is a bit of a mystery contestant in that I don’t think we’ve seen him on the show. He has a page on a Web site called Instant Cast where he writes the following: “I can sing very well. I can dance and act. I also have that stardom look. I’ve been singing since I was 5. I’m trying to get a music deal.” During his Idol interview, we also learn that he has performed in church, that he plays piano and writes music. And that he’s also good at drawing. Link: Go here to watch Deneco’s Idol interview. If anyone knows of links to his music, please share by commenting below.
Jermaine Sellers
Head to my MySpace, and you can read a complete saga of this 26-year-old’s experience in the music business. Sounds like it includes two record deals as an R&B artist with nothing to show for it. Plus a stint performing with the Royal Caribbean Cruise Line. (Please, no one tell Simon. I can hear the critiques already). Then he tried out for the first season of BET’s Sunday Best, eventually finishing third. He’s 26 now, from Joliet, Illinois, and is singing gospel music. In fact, he released a five-track gospel EP in December that’s available on iTunes. He survived Team Phoenix on group night (see Colin Benward), afterward proclaiming he’s not meant to perform in a group. Links: Go here to watch Jermaine’s audition; here to hear his gospel music.
Marshall Manning
This 22-year-old from Cumming, Ga., was a casualty on the first day in Hollywood and has already posted a very gracious YouTube video about his experience on the show. He doesn’t sound surprised by his elimination. After all, he points out, Idol is a singing competition. And he’s a rapper. He has an 12-track album out on iTunes, “Welcome to Mars,” and performs as Mars (a shortened version of his first name, I’m sure). In his Idol video, he says his most memorable performance came at his CD release party, where he sang ”in front of a bar full of country guys that didn’t like hip-hop at all.” Link: Go here to watch several of Mars’ rap/hip-hop videos. He also has a parody of Pants On the Ground, called “Pants Up.”
Stevie Flockhart
Another of the males from Atlanta whom we didn’t get to see audition. Stevie’s said his brother encouraged him to try out for Idol. Of course, the brother didn’t make it to Hollywood; Stevie did. The 25-year-old from Acworth, Ga., performed in a boy band as a teen and says he has also sung at numerous weddings and funerals for people close to him. He plays guitar and considers Katharine McPhee’s performance of “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” the most memorable moment on Idol. Link: Here’s a link to Stevie’s Idol video interview. If anyone knows of links to his music, let me know by commenting below.
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