By Rebecca Masters


In every season of American Idol, there always remains a set of aspirants and hopefuls that have the chance of making it to the finals and becoming the champion of the season. For this season, we now have 5 contenders that the audience have to choose from when casting their votes. Amongst these 5 finalists, one of this is James Durbin.

Personal History

James was born on January 6, 1989. His parents were Willy Durbin and Judy Settle-Durbin. Willy was a musician, and he could be one of James' inspiration to become a singer himself. Unfortunately, Willy didin't live long enough to see his son achieve greatness in the stage. When James was just 9 years old, his father passed away because of overdose in drugs. Shortly afterwards, a doctor found that the boy has functioning Asperger's syndrome as well as Tourettes, in which the patient exhibits motor or vocals tics. That didn't stop James from pursuing his love and interest in music, picking up in his father's footsteps.

Aside from the medical conditions and the tragic loss of his father, James also had financial problems of his own before he had joined American Idol. At the age of 21, he had borne a child with his fiance, Heidi. The boy, named Hunter, is an inspiration for James who fondly calls him his "rock." Financial difficulties during this time made it had for the couple to afford even diapers for the baby.

Musical Experience

Durbin received his musical training from the Musicscool. This outfit is being run by Dale Ockerman, who is best remembered as the Doobie Brothers' keyboardist and guitarist. Musicscool exposed the young James to several experience that would help develop his talent. He performed with the GuitArmy, a guitar ensemble composed of the students of Musicscool and devoted to performing Led Zeppelin hits. Aside from that, he was also given the opportunity to perform with Ockerman's Beatles cover band The White Ensemble. In a concert in December 2008, James became a guest of the band and sang "While My Guitar Gently Weeps," receiving a thunderous applause and standing ovation from the audience when the performance was concluded.

It's not a wonder that this young man from Santa Cruz is one of the Top 5 Idol contenders. With his passionate singing and raw talent, it wouldn't be a surprise if he becomes the ultimate Idol for the 10th season of the show.




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