'American Idol' changed Seattle stars' lives for the better
|
With the close of another "American Idol" season we thought it appropriate to check in with two former "Idol" contestants who held Seattle -- and the nation -- in their thrall just a year ago.
Bothell's beat-boxing B-Shorty, Blake Lewis, finished second last season to Jordin Sparks. Finishing at No. 7: Federal Way's Sanjaya Malakar. (All three had auditioned for "Idol" at KeyArena.)
Lewis' loyal Blaker Girls drummed up local support that blossomed into a national fan base, which came back weekly to propel him to the season finale last May. Malakar became an early sensation more for his modern-day Shaun Cassidy appeal than for his singing ability, thanks to a legion of screaming Fanjayas.
(For the record, he's so over the hair. Don't go there.)
In the year since the finale, Lewis has come out with an album on a major label tied to the "Idol" empire and has been a guest on morning and late-night talk shows. Malakar has been a regular on the awards-show and charity-fundraiser circuits.
For better -- not for worse -- "Idol" changed their lives.
Read more on Seattle Post-Intelligencer