#60 Katie Stevens

Next on my American Idol finalist countdown is Katie Stevens. She landed in eighth place in a double elimination with ninth placer Andrew Garcia. Her favorite artists are Jason Mraz and Whitney Houston. Her musical influences include Taylor Swift and her own brother Ryan Stevens. She can play the guitar, piano, cello, and flute, but she did not get a chance to play them on American Idol during her time in the competition.

Katherine "Katie" Marie Stevens was born to Mark Stevens and Clara Francisco on December 8, 1992, in Southbury, Connecticut. She was raised in Middlebury, Connecticut. Her Portuguese grandmother Rita Francisco has Alzheimer's disease. Stevens speaks English and Portuguese. She graduated from Pomperaug High School in Southbury, Connecticut, in June 2010. She came in second place in the 2009 Miss Connecticut's Outstanding Teen Pageant and named the 2009 Westbury Outstanding Teen at the Greater Watertown Scholarship Pageant. Stevens was instrumental in the creation of the Evan Gagnon Memorial Scholarship Fund, which gives college scholarships to the seniors of Pomperaug High School. Evan Gagnon, who died in January 2009 at the age of two, was the son of Stevens' Spanish teacher. Stevens has also been a member of Pomperaug's High School Varsity Swim Team all four years.

Stevens first performed for an audience at the age of five, when she performed the U.S. national anthem at a party for a politician in her hometown. At the age of seven, she performed "From This Moment On" by Shania Twain at her aunt's wedding. Since she was young, Stevens has been active in her local theater community. She played the role of Dorothy in both BSS Children's Theater and Main Street Theater's Wizard of OZ. At Main Street Theater Stevens also played the role of Sharpay in High School Musical and "The Cat" in Honk. She played Nellie Forbush in Pomperaug High School's South Pacific alongside Gary Dwyer as Emile DeBeque. In addition, Stevens performed at Carnegie Hall at the age of 13.