Justin Guarini (born Justin Eldrin Bell; October 28, 1978) is an
American singer, musician, actor, host and record producer, who in
2002 was the runner-up on the first season of American Idol. In 2015,
he began appearing in TV commercials as "Lil' Sweet", a character used
to advertise the Diet Dr. Pepper soft drink.Guarini was born in
Columbus, Georgia. His father, Eldrin Bell, is African-American and is
a former Atlanta, Georgia, Chief of Police, and former chairperson of
the Clayton County Commission in Clayton County, Georgia. His mother,
Kathy Pepino Guarini, is Italian American, and was a journalist for
WTVM TV in Columbus, and later for CNN. Guarini was primarily raised
by his mother and stepfather, physicist Jerry Guarini, in the
Philadelphia suburb of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He attended Central
Bucks High School East.Guarini's musical experience started at age
four when he was accepted by the Atlanta Boy Choir. After moving to
Pennsylvania in 1985, he joined the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Boys
Choir. Throughout his school years Guarini sang in school choirs, and
from 1996 to 2000 was the lead soloist in an award-winning a cappella
group named The Midnight Voices. The group released an independent
album in 1999 with proceeds benefiting a music scholarship fund at
Guarini's alma mater, Central Bucks High School East in Buckingham,
Pennsylvania. He was a director/performer at the Riverside Haunted
Woods in Bridgeton, Pennsylvania, in 2001.
American singer, musician, actor, host and record producer, who in
2002 was the runner-up on the first season of American Idol. In 2015,
he began appearing in TV commercials as "Lil' Sweet", a character used
to advertise the Diet Dr. Pepper soft drink.Guarini was born in
Columbus, Georgia. His father, Eldrin Bell, is African-American and is
a former Atlanta, Georgia, Chief of Police, and former chairperson of
the Clayton County Commission in Clayton County, Georgia. His mother,
Kathy Pepino Guarini, is Italian American, and was a journalist for
WTVM TV in Columbus, and later for CNN. Guarini was primarily raised
by his mother and stepfather, physicist Jerry Guarini, in the
Philadelphia suburb of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He attended Central
Bucks High School East.Guarini's musical experience started at age
four when he was accepted by the Atlanta Boy Choir. After moving to
Pennsylvania in 1985, he joined the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Boys
Choir. Throughout his school years Guarini sang in school choirs, and
from 1996 to 2000 was the lead soloist in an award-winning a cappella
group named The Midnight Voices. The group released an independent
album in 1999 with proceeds benefiting a music scholarship fund at
Guarini's alma mater, Central Bucks High School East in Buckingham,
Pennsylvania. He was a director/performer at the Riverside Haunted
Woods in Bridgeton, Pennsylvania, in 2001.
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