Jim Verraros

James Conrad "Jim" Verraros (born February 8, 1983) is an American singer/actor and native of Crystal Lake, Illinois who is most notable for being one of the top 10 finalists in the first season of American Idol. Because he was raised by deaf parents, he is fluent in American Sign Language.

On September 6, 2009, Verraros married his boyfriend Bill Brennan in a small ceremony in Illinois.

Personal life

Verraros was born on February 8, 1983 and grew up in Crystal Lake, Illinois.^[1] His father is Greek and both of his parents are deaf. Verraros is fluent in American Sign Language.^[2][3] The added responsibility of having to interpret for his parents led Verraros to relating more with people older than him, than those his own age.^[2] He discovered that he was gay when he was around twelve or thirteen years old, and his sexuality led to him being bullied during middle school. High school marked an improvement for him - he became active in theater and went on to attend Monmouth College on a theater scholarship. Upon later transferring to Columbia College, he struggled to find acting opportunities. He has attributed this struggle to the "political" nature of theater.^[4] Insecure about his image, he began working on his weight and became a vegetarian. Over the course of two and a half months, he lost eighty pounds. Some people thought that he developed an eating disorder, and in retrospect, Verraros has said that he probably did.^[2][4]

Prior to competing on American Idol, Verraros kept an online journal, in which he was open about being gay. The Advocate, an American LGBT-interest magazine, discovered this journal and contacted Fox with a request to interview Verraros. One day later, the journal was deleted.^[5] Verraros publicly came out to the magazine in a January 2003 interview. He commented that the website was removed because Fox did not want him to gain an unfair advantage over the other contestants - the network had feared that people might vote for him on the basis of his sexual orientation. Verraros was open about his sexuality with the other American Idol finalists, whom he described as being very supportive.^[4] He came out to his mother and sister before auditioning for the show.^[2][4] However, he did not come out to his father until the time of the American Idol tour.^[4]

Another LGBT-interest magazine, Out, listed Verraros as one of 2002's Most Intriguing People.^[6][7][8] Verraros participated in the 2005 Los Angeles and Chicago Gay Pride parades.^[8] He also participated in a Kansas City pride parade with American Idol season two third place finalist Kimberley Locke.^[9]

In 2005, Verraros met Bill Brennan through Myspace. After learning that they only lived twenty minutes away from each other, the two of them decided to meet in person. Four years later, on September 6, 2009, they married each other in their home state of Illinois - despite gay marriage being illegal there at the time.^[10][11]

American Idol

While attending Columbia College, one of Verarros' friends suggested that he audition for the first season of American Idol.^[12] Although Verraros was primarily interested in acting, he saw the opportunity as a good way to gain experience and tried out for fun.^[4][13] Attempting to stand out, he chose to sing "When I Fall in Love" by Nat King Cole, rather than a pop song.^[9] He was nineteen at the time and attended the Chicago auditions.^[9][14] All three judges enjoyed his performance and sent him through to the Hollywood rounds.^[14]

During his audition, Verraros signed the lyrics to his song.^[14] The show heavily focused on his parents' disabilities. According to The Advocate, some people speculated that Verraros was helped in the competition by sympathy votes.^[4]

Verraros reprised "When I Fall in Love" for the Top 30 semi-finals. Simon Cowell lambasted the performance, saying, "I think if you win this competition, we would have failed."^[15] Season one co-host Brian Dunkleman has since recounted overhearing the judges that night say that they were going to "nail Jim."^[16] After the performance, Verraros was offered reassurance by Dunkleman, who has said that he was then approached by the show's executive producer, Nigel Lythgoe. According to Dunkleman, Lythgoe took him backstage during the commercial break and raged against him for not further demoralizing Verraros.^[16]

Originally, both Verraros and Kelly Clarkson wanted to sing "Get Ready" for Top 10 Motown week. Verraros won a coin toss, but then realized that much of the song called to be sung in falsetto, which he was uncomfortable with. So he switched to "Easy", a song that he was unfamiliar with.^[9] The judges once again criticized his performance.^[17] That week was a double elimination, and Verraros received the second fewest number of votes, resulting in a ninth-place finish for him, ahead of EJay Day.^[18]

Performances

Professional career

Verraros released his album Unsaid and Understood (2004) through the indie label Red Queen Music - Sound Axis. It won the 2004 Outmusic Award for Outstanding New Recording - Debut Male.

The album was revamped and picked up by Koch Records and released as Rollercoaster (2005), Verraros' mainstream debut, which garnered several dance floor hits, including the Top 25 Billboard Hot Club/Dance Chart hit "You Turn It On." The album was produced and co-written by Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Gabe Lopez and features four songs co-written by American Idol finalist Angela Peel. The album had a limited release deal through Koch Records.

On May 27, 2009, Verraros released two new singles "Touch (Don't U Want 2)" and "Electric Love" from his third album Do Not Disturb. Both songs were produced and written by Gabe Lopez.

As an actor, Verarros is a star of the 2004 gay-themed comedy Eating Out directed by Q. Allan Brocka and produced by Ariztical Entertainment, as well in the sequel, Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds. Verraros was considered for a role on the here! series Dante's Cove. Verraros has appeared four times on The Feast of Fools podcast - once in November and December 2006 and twice in January 2007.

Verraros is an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, and Chicago Bulls.

Filmography

• American Idol Season 1 (2002) – Himself
• Eating Out (2004) – Kyle
• Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds (2006) – Kyle
• Another Gay Sequel: Gays Gone Wild! (2008) – Priest
• Copacabana (2013) – Flavio/Suzie (in production)^[19]

Discography

Albums

References

External links

• Official Website
• Jim Verraros at the Internet Movie Database
• Punk Globe Magazine Online Interview
• Jim Verraros Interview