Sunday, January 29, 2012

#53 Brandon Rogers

Next on my American Idol finalist countdown is my number 53 American Idol finalist Brandon Rogers. He worked as a professional backup vocalist and landed in 12th place on American Idol season 6.

Rogers graduated from John Muir High School in 1996 and from University of  North Texas in 1999. He performed in the UNT Jazz Singers, the centerpiece ensemble of the university's vocal jazz studies program. His classmates included Grammy-winning blues and country singer Norah Jones and singer songwriter David Angerstein. Rogers' mother is a published songwriter.

His first big break was part of a group brought together through a radio boy band competition in Dallas, Texas, in 2000. The Kidd Kraddick in the Morning show on 106.1 "KISS-FM", callsigned KHKS,  put together an audition originally as a joke to see if they could really construct a boy band. However, they ended up with five talented singers which they named Sons of Harmony. Mexican pop singer Marcos Hernandez was also a member of this band. When the band broke up, Brandon relocated to Los Angeles, California, to pursue a music career.

As a professional backup vocalist, Rogers performed backup on Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera's 2003 Justified and Stripped Tour and Anastacia's  2005 Encore Tour. Rogers has also worked as a vocal coach and wedding singer.

Rogers auditioned for American Idol season 6 in Los Angeles, where the judges (including guest judge Olivia Newton-John) were impressed with his vocals. Judge Simon Cowell later mentioned was the best who auditioned from Los Angeles. He got through the subsequent Hollywood, cut-down, and semi-final rounds to make the Top 12 finals round. However, in his initial performance he forgot the words to several bars of the Diana Ross "You Can't Hurry Love"  Diana Ross, which was covered by Phil Collins in 1982, and was the first finalist eliminated from the show on March 14, 2007, landing in 12th place. He missed out on the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2007 along with 11th placer Stephanie Edwards. On May 12, 2008 Rogers guest starred on the crime drama Bones on FOX. He would appear as a recurring character on a web-oriented series "Valley Peaks". Authentik Artists releaseed his new single, "Broken".

In June 2008 Brandon starred as one of the headliners for a live music show in Branson, MO, named "America's Favorite Finalists". The show featured 6 top 12 American Idol Finalists performing their own music, cover songs and group numbers. The show ran at the Grand Palace and was produced by Steve Drummond, America's Favorite Finalists.

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