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All Music Guide:
Vocalist and multi-instrumentalist Casey Abrams became an overnight celebrity in January 2011, when he was selected to be a contestant on the popular televised talent competition American Idol. Abrams was born on February 12, 1991, in Austin, Texas. Abrams' family lived in Illinois for several years before settling in Idyllwild, California, where his father taught filmmaking at the Idyllwild Arts Academy. Abrams became a student at Idyllwild, where he studied both jazz and classical music, with emphasis on the double bass and piano. In addition to jazz, Abrams developed a fondness for classic jazz and pop vocalists such as Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles, and James Taylor, and began studying singing as well as instrumental performance. When the producers of American Idol began holding auditions for their tenth season, Abrams appeared at the tryouts in Austin, and his version of Ray Charles' "I Don't Need No Doctor" impressed the judges, who made him one of the 24 semifinalists who took part in the televised competition in Los Angeles. Abrams' warm, engaging style and likable personality made him a favorite with American Idol's viewers as well as the judges, as did his eclectic choices of material, ranging from Ella Fitzgerald to Nirvana. When Abrams fared poorly in the voting after reaching the Top 11, the show's judges made the rare choice to "save" Abrams, intervening to keep him in the running after an impressive performance of Elton John's "Your Song." However, four weeks later, Abrams was finally voted off the show, coming in sixth place while Scotty McCreery came in first. After making a number of television appearances and taking part in the annual American Idol concert tour, Abrams made his recording debut in the fall of 2011, when he and Haley Reinhart (another season ten contestant) recorded a duet version of the seasonal favorite "Baby, It's Cold Outside" that was issued as a single. In January 2012, Concord Music Group announced they'd signed Abrams to a record deal, and his self-titled debut album was released in June 2012.
Wikipedia:
Casey Abrams (born February 12, 1991) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist from Idyllwild, California who finished in sixth place on the tenth season of American Idol. He was eliminated from the competition on April 28, 2011, five weeks after being the third finalist to be saved from elimination by the judges.
Early life [edit]
Abrams was born on February 12, 1991 in Austin, Texas, to Pam Pierce and Ira Abrams. His father is Jewish and his mother is from a Catholic background, and Abrams grew up in an interfaith family. He spent his early years in the Chicago area, first in Evanston, Illinois, then in Wilmette, where he attended McKenzie Elementary School.
Abrams later moved to California and attended middle school and high school there. He was a student at Idyllwild Arts Academy in Idyllwild, California, where his father teaches film production. At Idyllwild Arts, he studied classical bass instruction and improvisation, and participted in the jazz ensembles, gaining a foundation in music history, piano, and jazz piano, and learning to write musical scores for films.
After graduating from Idyllwild in 2009, he attended University of Colorado at Boulder as a music major. He worked as a film camp counselor at Idyllwild Arts Summer Camp prior to his appearance on American Idol.
Abrams suffers from ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory disease which causes ulceration and inflammation of the colon, and that occasionally requires blood transfusions, which resulted in his having been hospitalized while on American Idol.
Abrams lists as his musical influences Ray Charles, Frank Sinatra, Oscar Peterson, and James Taylor, as well as Marshall Hawkins, head of the jazz department at Idyllwild Arts Academy.
American Idol [edit]
Overview [edit]
Abrams auditioned for the tenth season of American Idol in Austin, Texas. He was selected as one of the Top 24 semi-finalists, but two days before he was due to perform for the semi-finals, he suffered severe stomach pains and was rushed to the hospital. He was well enough to perform on performance night, and was one of the five male vote receivers to advance to the Top 13; however, he missed the Top 13 results show due to his illness. He was the lowest vote receiver on the Top 11 result show, but was saved by the judges; they chose to save him immediately, stopping his supposedly last performance on the show halfway through it. He is the third finalist to be saved by the judges in three seasons.
Abrams was eliminated from the competition on April 28, 2011, finishing in sixth place. During his last performance he sang "I Put a Spell on You" by Screamin' Jay Hawkins, a song he had performed during the semifinals. During the performance he kissed audience members, rolled onto the stage, thanked the judges, and sang the last two words ("you're mine") to fellow contestant Haley Reinhart.
On May 25, 2011, Abrams sang "Fat Bottomed Girls" with Jack Black on the American Idol finale.
Performances and results [edit]
^Note 1 Abrams received the lowest number of votes; however, the judges decided to use their one save of the season to allow him to remain in the competition, resulting in two eliminations the following week.^Note 2 Due to the judges using their one save on Abrams, the Top 11 remained intact for another week.Post-Idol [edit]
Abrams appeared and performed on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno in April 2011, and Live with Regis and Kelly, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and MTV's The Seven in May of the same year. He was one of the performers in the 2011 American Idols Live Tour, which began in West Valley City, Utah in July 2011, and ended in Manila, Philippines in September 2011.
In August 2011, Abrams became a spokesman in a national campaign called IBD Icons to raise awareness of inflammatory bowel disease.
Abrams is managed by 19 Entertainment. Abrams and former American Idol Season 10 contestant Haley Reinhart recorded a holiday song, "Baby, It's Cold Outside", in November 2011—also released on video.
On January 8, 2012 Abrams signed with Concord Music Group. Abrams’ linking with Concord Music Group marks the second signing of a contestant from season ten to a non-Universal Music Group-owned label. His first album is self-titled, Casey Abrams. The album was produced by Randy Jackson and American Songwriter writes that "co-writers on the album include American Idol co-producer Iain Pirie and mega-hit songwriters Jason Mraz, Rune Westberg, Martin Terefe, and Toby Gad." The first single from the album "Get Out" was released on June 5, 2012. The album was released June 26, 2012. Performing on the show gave sales of his album a boost of nearly 2,000% over the previous week.
