John Stevens (singer)
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John Bassat Stevens IV (born July 28, 1987) is an American classic pop singer and was the sixth-place finalist on the third season of the television series American Idol.
Stevens was born in Buffalo, New York and his permanent residence is in nearby East Amherst. He auditioned for American Idol in New York City, singing That's Amore as an impersonation of Dean Martin. After the judges asked him to sing in his normal voice; he then performed The Way You Look Tonight and was put through to the next round.
Stevens was a member of the fourth group of semifinalists. He finished first in the voting among his group of eight semifinalists, earning 28% of the popular vote. At 16, he was the youngest contestant ever to make the finals on American Idol.
Stevens' favorite singer is Frank Sinatra, to whom his vocal style has been compared. He has also earned the nickname "Teen Martin" because of his Dean Martin impersonation and ability to croon at such a young age. Stevens' style was not typical Idol fare, causing him to struggle with unfamiliar genres during the competition.
Stevens was the source of much controversy when the results of the top seven show ("Barry Manilow Week") were broadcast. Many considered LaToya London, Fantasia Barrino and Jennifer Hudson to be among the most talented singers of the seven, yet they all ended up in the bottom three that week. Some claimed that racism was a factor. Others maintained that vote splitting was a factor. And still others blamed the Vote for the Worst movement at Votefortheworst.com. After Hudson was voted off, Ryan Seacrest reported that Stevens told Hudson that "it should have been me."
Many critics of the show, from late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel to singer Elton John, heartily agreed, suggesting that Stevens' success only proved that American Idol viewers based their votes on what they saw instead of what they heard.
The last week in April 2004 was "Latin Week", a tribute to the music of Gloria Estefan. Stevens performed Music of My Heart, and Simon Cowell credited Stevens with "taking every bullet thrown at you like a man." Then he went on to tell the teenaged crooner that he and Latin music went together "like chocolate ice cream and an onion". The next day, Stevens was voted off the show, coming in sixth place despite receiving over four million votes.
Stevens was signed to Maverick Records and released his debut album Red on June 28, 2005. It was produced by Steve Tyrell and executive produced by David Foster. It features covers of The Beatles' "Here, There and Everywhere" and Maroon 5's "This Love", both arranged and performed in a relaxed jazz/lounge style. Its first week sales put it into the top 10 of the Billboard jazz charts. It has sold ([1]) 18,000 copies as of March 2006. He made the decision to leave Maverick Records and is currently a student at Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts.
