Ashthon Jones

Age: 24

Hometown: Valdosta, GA

Audition City: Nashville

Favorite Quote: "Blessed to be Stressed"

Musical Influences: Mary Mary, Whitney Houston, Chaka Khan, The Clark Sisters

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: My dream song to perform is Teena Marie & Rick James' "Fire and Desire."
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: I sit and get on my phone and call my mom so I can relax my nerves. I get nervous after performing.
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: My dream song to perform is Teena Marie & Rick James' "Fire and Desire."
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: I would love to perform with "The Temptations!"
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: LOL M.I.A.'s album. I love "Paper Planes." I play this CD all the time. Jamming out!
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: I have no singing training, but I have learned breathing lessons from a vocal coach.

 Casey Abrams

Age: 20

Hometown: Wilmette, IL, Idyllwild CA

Audition City: Austin, TX

Favorite Quote: "Be a serious musician, don't be a serious person"

Musical Influences: Queen, James Taylor, Oscar Peterson, Ray charles, Marshall Hawkins, Frank sinatra

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: Bohemian Rhapsody would be my dream song.
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: Relax and rethink.
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: It'd be Wynton Marsalis and professional jazz musicians. Maybe Bobby DeFrancisco. I like jazzy-ness.
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: Lawrence Welk, Polkas
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: Kind of.

 Haley Reinhart

Age: 20

Hometown: Wheeling, IL

Audition City: Milwaukee

Favorite Quote: I truly believe eveything happens for an important reason. And with I always sat 'Que sera- whatever will be, will be'"

Musical Influences: 50's, Motown, classic rock, disco, pop, funk, blues

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: I would love to perform "At Last" by Etta James.
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: To unwind, I'd say a big ol' plate of anything scrumptious and a phone call to my ma--yeah, that would do the trick! :)
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: It would be amazing to perform with Elton John.
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: Esperanza Spalding would be a perfect example of a complex artist that my friends would not be drawn to as I am
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: I took a couple short weeks worth of voice lessons in high school.

 Jacob E. Lusk

Age: 23

Hometown: Compton, CA

Audition City: Los Angeles

Favorite Quote: 'Be yourself"

Musical Influences: My Dad

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: I Will Always Love You
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: SLEEP, SLEEP, SLEEP!!!
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: Whitney Houston (greatest duet ever!)
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: Amel Larrieux
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: No

 James Durbin

Age: 22

Hometown: Santa Cruz, CA

Audition City: San Francisco

Favorite Quote: "You can't change the wind, but you can set your sails in the direction you want"

Musical Influences: Robert Plant,Ronnie James dio, Steven Tyler, Freddie Mercury

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: I can't wait to perform my version of "While My Guitar Gently Weeps." It really expresses my entire life!
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: I'm always running on adrenaline. I like to ride it out and just relax.
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: I would LOVE to perform with Mr. Steven Tyler.
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: A tie between: Disney's Hercules Soundtrack and Beavis & Butthead Do America Movie Soundtrack :)
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: I had basic vocal training as a kid, but the voice that I have today is self-taught by watching my influences.

 Karen Rodriguez

Age: 21

Hometown: New York, NY

Audition City: Los Angeles

Favorite Quote: "Everything happens for a reason"

Musical Influences: Selena, Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Beyonce

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: My dream song would be "I Will Always Love You" in English and Spanish.
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: I usually call my mom and family and tell them how it went! They make me feel so good,.
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: My dream song would be "I Will Always Love You" in English and Spanish.
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: I would love to perform a duet with Marc Anthony. That is one of my dreams.
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: Damian Marley and Nas
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: Yes! I got my 1st scholarship to take singing and piano lessions when I was in kindergarden.

 Lauren Alaina

Age: 16

Hometown: Rossville, GA

Audition City: Nashville

Favorite Quote: "I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me"

Musical Influences: Carrie Underwood

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: I already got to sing with Steven Tyler and I can't think of anything more special to sing.
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: I don't really have to unwind after a performance because all of my built up emotions come out during my performance.
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: I would perform with Aerosmith because Steven Tyler is extremely talented and a cool person!
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: Nothing in my musical selection would be surprising because I listen to everything.
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: No.

 Naima Adedapo

Age: 26

Hometown: Milwaukee, WI

Audition City: Milwaukee

Favorite Quote: "Stay humble and true to yourself"

Musical Influences: Adekola Adedapo (my mother), Indie Arie, Lauryn Hill, Erykah Badu, Queen Ifrica, Jill Scott, Donnie Hathaway

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: My dream song to perform is "Far Away" by Naima Adedapo.
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: To unwind after a performance I find the best, most comfortable, place to curl up and just relax.
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: If I could perform with any person it would be Erykah Badu because she has inspired me a great deal in my life.
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: My friends would be surprised that I own Avril Lavigne's album.
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: No, I do not have any formal singing training. My trining comes from listening.

 Paul McDonald

Age: 26

Hometown: Huntsville, AL

Audition City: Nashville, TN

Favorite Quote: "A man us a success if he gets up in the morning and get to bed at night and in between he does what he wants to do" -Bob Dylan

Musical Influences: Folk, country, R&B, Gospel, Rap

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: I'm still working on that one. I'd love to write a timelss song that helps people.
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: It depends how the performances goes.
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: I'd love to perform with the Rolling Stones. They are a timelss band that has made such an impact on all of music.
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: I own all kinds of crazy albums. I listen to everything for inspiration.
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: Nope. The way I learned how to sing was doing it live over and over.

 Pia Toscano

Age: 22

Hometown: Howard Beach, NY

Audition City: New Jersey

Favorite Quote: "go confidently in the direction of your dreams, live the life you've imagined and don't worry about the thing that you have no control over"

Musical Influences: Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Etta James, Luthor Vandross

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: My dream song to perform is "It Must've Been Love" by Roxette.
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: I don't ever really unwind after a performance.
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: It would be my sister who is the principal timpanist in the Tuscon Symphony.
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: My friends would be surprised to know that I own the Peter Gabriel "Rhythm of the Heat" album.
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: It would be my sister who is the principal timpanist in the Tuscon Symphony.
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: I do have formal vocal training. I started taking vocal lessons at 11.

 Scott (Scotty) McCreery

Age: 17

Hometown: Garner, NC

Audition City: Milwaukee

Went to the same high school as Clay Aiken (Garner High school)

Favorite Quote: "Philipians 4:13 I can do all things through Christ who stregthens me"

Musical Influences: Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, Conway Twitty, Elvis

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: ""Long Black Train" by Josh Turner"
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: Sit on the couch and watch SportsCenter.
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: Josh Turner, Randy Travis, or George Strait. All of these men "are" country music and they've shaped it into what it is today.
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: Jackson 5 Greatest Hits. And I listen to it all the time.
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: Yes, I'm a member of Garner High Die Miester singers. I have a wonderful choral director, Mrs. Meredith Clayton.

 Stefano Langone

Age: 21

Hometown: Kent, WA

Audition City: San Francisco

Favorite Quote: "live life to the fullest"

Musical Influences: Stevie Wonder

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: My original songs.
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: Eat, have a drink, good company.
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: My dad at the Grammy's. Childhood dream.
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: 3 Tenors.
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: 3 yeara a capella, 4 years classical training, 3 years jazz.

 Thia Megia

Age: 16

Hometown: Hayward, CA (Mountain House CA)

Audition City: Milwaukee

Favorite Quote: "We are all as mush as we can dream"

Musical Influences: Most artists I listen to

• Q & A:
• Q: What’s your dream song to perform?
• A: My dream song to perform would be "I Who Have Nothing" inside Radio City Music Hall. It's been a dream of mine.
• Q: What do you do to unwind after a performance?
• A: Depending on how the performance went, I'm either relaxing or spending some good times with my family and my friends.
• Q: If you could perform with any person or group, who would it be and why?
• A: I think it'd be quite interesting if I had gotten the chance to perform with Jason Mraz.
• Q: What album would your friends be surprised you own?
• A: My friends know I'm pretty versatile when it comes to music, so they most likely wouldn't be.
• Q: Do you have any formal singing training?
• A: I wanted a vocal coach when I was younger, so I tried it out when I was six. My vocal coach and I are still keeping in touch.