The first time we saw Stefano on American Idol, it was amidst the drama of learning his back-story of surviving a horrible car accident in May of 2009. He spoke candidly of his scars and how blessed he felt to be alive.
Since then he has proven himself to be more than just a token sob story that the show likes to highlight. Stefano is not only a singer but a songwriter and pianist as well. The 22-year-old from Washington state performed an original song during the top 40 round. This impressed the judges enough to gain him entry into the top 24.
Once Stefano was put before the American public he didn’t receive enough votes to become part of the top 10. However, the judges were allowed three wild card spots, and Stefano deservedly received one of those. For this performance, he sang a gospel song because “I am a spiritual man; at that moment in time, I needed everything. I needed to shine.”
He set out to prove himself and week after week he listened to the advice from the judge panel and continued to grow as an artist. We hear more from Stefano during his exit interview.
Stefano is hoping to show his musicianship more now that he is off the show. He looks forward to collaborating with other artists that he has already heard from in the industry, including rappers.
Because he had been in the bottom three a number of times, Stefano was not surprised to be voted out this week. “I got to lucky number seven,” he says. In regards to James Durbin’s outburst of sadness at Stefano’s departure, he says that James is his “brother” and he will be his best man at his wedding.
Stefano believes that he stayed true to who he is as a musician while on the show but he learned a lot from Jimmy and the judges. “I’m ready to take the next step and use that in the big picture.” He realizes that he is marketable right now and plans to “pounce on it.”
As far as the grueling schedule of the show, Stefano says, “It’s star school. This is preparing you for what you got to do. It’s really prepared us for what’s to come. It’s so amazing.”
Read more about Stefano on his official American Idol page.
