Constantine Maroulis

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Constantine Maroulis

Background information
Birth name Constantine James Maroulis
Born September 17, 1975 (age 31)
Origin United States Brooklyn, New York
Genre(s) Rock
Occupation(s) Musician, actor
Years active 2003–present
Label(s) RCA Records
Associated
acts		 Pray for the Soul of Betty
Rent
The Wedding Singer
Website Official site
Members
Jim Boggia
Clancy
Marc Copely
Daniel Mintseris
Winston Roye

Constantine James Maroulis (born September 17, 1975 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American rock singer, actor, and writer who was the lead vocalist of the hard rock band Pray for the Soul of Betty and the sixth-place finalist on the fourth season of the popular reality television series American Idol. He was eliminated from American Idol on April 27, 2005.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early years

Maroulis was born in Brooklyn to Greek American parents, James Constantine Maroulis and Constance P. Maroulis (born 1938). Both maternal and paternal grandparents immigrated to the States from Greece in the 1920s.[1] He was brought up in the Greek Orthodox religion,[2] and he can speak Greek[3]. His older brother, Athan Maroulis (born 1964), is a record producer and his sister, Anastacia P. Maroulis (born 1968), is a New York / New Jersey schoolteacher.

When Maroulis was five years old his family moved to Wyckoff, New Jersey, an affluent suburb of New York City, where he grew up. At that time he developed an interest in music, following the lead of his older brother.

By age eleven he was studying the trumpet at Eisenhower Middle School.

He later sang in high school garage bands, including Lady Rain and Milkbone. He graduated from Ramapo High School in 1993 and later attended the The Boston Conservatory of Music. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Musical Theater from The Boston Conservatory of Music and a minor in voice from the Berklee College of Music in 2002.

He was in the cast recording of the 2000 musical, Suburban Dreams, which was produced by composer Stephen Thompson, Richard Kenner, and Jesse Merz.[4]

Some years before appearing on Idol, Maroulis competed on the dating show Elimidate[5] and was an extra in NBC's Law and Order: SVU and the WB's Astro Boy.

He has appeared in a number of off-Broadway roles from the Conservatory, along with a series of independent films. After graduating the Conservatory, Maroulis trained as a director's apprentice at the Williamstown Theatre Festival[6] in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts and toured in the Broadway international touring company of Rent as the lead role Roger Davis[7]. His role as Roger was non- equity. Since he had no agent representing him, he was allowed to appear on American Idol. After American Idol Maroulis was briefly represented by the Creative Artists Agency, but as of October 2006, he is no longer represented by the agency. [2]

[edit] American Idol

In August 2004, supposedly upon an ex-girlfriend's suggestion, Maroulis traveled to Washington DC to audition for the television show American Idol. During the semifinals and finals of Idol, he was the subject of an internet meme, the Vote for the Worst online campaign provided by the Internet community, "Survivor Sucks" [8] before the website switched focus to Scott Savol as a result of fan complaints.

For the 2005 season, Idol producers changed the age range of contestants from 16-26 to 16-28. Along with Bo Bice, Maroulis was one of the oldest contestants to participate on American Idol. Maroulis and Bice are also notable for being among the first contestants to compete using the rock idiom.

On April 27, 2005, Maroulis, was voted off American Idol after he performed Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" during the 2000s music round. He was in the bottom three behind Vonzell Solomon and Anthony Fedorov. Less than a week before his elimination, Maroulis's pre-Idol band, Pray For The Soul Of Betty, announced the May 10 release of their self-titled debut on their label, Baby Julius[9].

Maroulis was featured on the American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers compilation with "My Funny Valentine". His rendition of the Queen classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" also earned him the praise of judges, including that of the usually harsh Simon Cowell. Maroulis later recorded a studio version of the track for Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen,[10] which was released on August 9, 2005 on Queen's label, Hollywood Records, a division of Universal.

[edit] Betty frontman

Main article: Pray for the Soul of Betty

Maroulis was added to the band in 2003 as the lead vocalist after winning over 150 auditioners. For three years, he contributed lyrics and songs for the band. The band rose to national attention when Maroulis appeared on Idol. His audition clip showed him "quitting" the band, a claim he had denied at the time. On March 20, 2006, Maroulis announced his departure with the band due to creative and business differences.

[edit] Solo career

In November and December 2005, Maroulis performed four live shows in Manila, Philippines and New Jersey, USA. His set list included well-known songs he has performed previously, including songs from Hedwig and the Angry Inch[11], Rent, Jesus Christ Superstar,[12] and American Idol.

In 2006, Maroulis formed a new band, and a debut album is to be announced in late 2006[13] The band members are:

  • Jim Boggia
  • Clancy
  • Marc Copely
  • Daniel Mintseris
  • Winston Roye

[edit] Acting career

In the fall of 2005, he was in negotiations to star in a television sitcom that is loosely based on his upbringing as the youngest of three in a large Greek-American family of New York. Disney's ABC network bought rights to the show, courtesy of Grammnet (of Paramount, owned by former Cheers and Frasier star Kelsey Grammer). However, later ABC passed on the project before it passed the script stage. [3]

On August 22, 2006, it was announced by MTV that Maroulis joined the cast of the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer alongside Stephen Lynch. On August 23, 2006, it was announced that he is performing the role of Sammy, originally performed by Matthew Saldivar. He is to join the show for an 8-week stint beginning September 8, 2006.

[edit] List of American Idol performances

Semi-finals:

Finals:

[edit] Discography

Year Title Label Other notes
2004 Pray for the Soul of Betty Baby Julius/Koch Vocals, writer, producer
2005 American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers RCA "My Funny Valentine"
2005 Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen Hollywood "Bohemian Rhapsody"
2006 Carols For a Cure Rock-it Science Records "The Hanukah Song" with the cast of the Wedding Singer

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Athan Maroulis's VH1 biography VH1/Viacom., Ellis Island
  2. ^ Wikipedia contributors. "List of Greek Orthodox Christians"
  3. ^ Hellenic News of America URL accessed March 18, 2006.
  4. ^ [1]
  5. ^ Warner Bros. Elimidate episode. January 1999.
  6. ^ Williamstown Theatre Festival cast listing
  7. ^ Kukowski, Anna. "Rent Interview with Constantine" 2003-2004.
  8. ^ Vote for the Worst
  9. ^ Koch Records distribution deal
  10. ^ Hollywood Records
  11. ^ Hedwig and the Angry Inch
  12. ^ Jesus Christ Superstar
  13. ^ myspace blog July 14th 2006.

[edit] External links

Persondata
NAME Maroulis, Constantine James
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Constantine
SHORT DESCRIPTION American singer
DATE OF BIRTH September 17, 1975
PLACE OF BIRTH Brooklyn, New York, United States
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../c/o/n/Constantine_Maroulis_2a76.html"