James Conrad Verraros (born February 8, 1983) is an American singer,
songwriter, and actor, who placed ninth on the first season of
American Idol. Raised by deaf parents, he is fluent in American Sign
Language and gained notoriety on American Idol for signing the lyrics
to his audition song. After competing on the series, he released three
pop rock, dance albums with music producer and songwriter Gabe Lopez.
Verraros was also featured on the 2002 compilation album American
Idol: Greatest Moments, covering "Easy" by the Commodores â€" this
album reached number four on the Billboard 200 chart.While
participating in the 2002 American Idols LIVE! tour, Verraros came out
as gay. He was the first American Idol finalist to come out, and he
remained the series' only publicly gay finalist for over three years.
Several organizations subsequently honored Verraros as an influential
figure within the gay community (such as Out magazine, which named him
to its "Most Intriguing People" list twice, first in 2002 and again in
2006). Throughout his music career, Verraros performed at numerous
pride events. He also toured at gay clubs.Verraros released his
official debut album, Rollercoaster, through independent label Koch
Records in 2005. It was accompanied by two singles and received
generally positive reviews. Some of the songs from Rollercoaster had
previously been featured on a demo album, Unsaid and Understood, which
Verraros had self-released through mp3.com around 2003. The lead
single from Rollercoaster, "You Turn It On", peaked at number
twenty-one on the Billboard Dance Club Play Chart.
songwriter, and actor, who placed ninth on the first season of
American Idol. Raised by deaf parents, he is fluent in American Sign
Language and gained notoriety on American Idol for signing the lyrics
to his audition song. After competing on the series, he released three
pop rock, dance albums with music producer and songwriter Gabe Lopez.
Verraros was also featured on the 2002 compilation album American
Idol: Greatest Moments, covering "Easy" by the Commodores â€" this
album reached number four on the Billboard 200 chart.While
participating in the 2002 American Idols LIVE! tour, Verraros came out
as gay. He was the first American Idol finalist to come out, and he
remained the series' only publicly gay finalist for over three years.
Several organizations subsequently honored Verraros as an influential
figure within the gay community (such as Out magazine, which named him
to its "Most Intriguing People" list twice, first in 2002 and again in
2006). Throughout his music career, Verraros performed at numerous
pride events. He also toured at gay clubs.Verraros released his
official debut album, Rollercoaster, through independent label Koch
Records in 2005. It was accompanied by two singles and received
generally positive reviews. Some of the songs from Rollercoaster had
previously been featured on a demo album, Unsaid and Understood, which
Verraros had self-released through mp3.com around 2003. The lead
single from Rollercoaster, "You Turn It On", peaked at number
twenty-one on the Billboard Dance Club Play Chart.
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