John Stevens (singer)
Encyclopedia
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
.
and his permanent residence is in nearby East Amherst
. He attended Williamsville East High School
and sang in a select jazz group. He auditioned for American Idol
in New York City
, singing
"That's Amore
" as an impression of Dean Martin
. When the judges asked him to sing in his normal voice, he performed "The Way You Look Tonight
" and was sent 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 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.
For "Country Week," Stevens sang "King of the Road
." During "Elton John Week," he performed "Crocodile Rock
."
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." 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 sold 18,000 copies as of March 2006. He and Maverick Records have since parted ways.
John graduated from the Berklee College of Music
in Boston, Massachusetts in May 2009 and released a Christmas album, "Home for Christmas," on November 1, 2009.
Stevens currently sings with the Boston-based Beantown Swing Orchestra
, focusing on the classic big band
arrangements that were originally performed by Frank Sinatra
and Bobby Darin
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
classic pop singer and was the sixth-place finalist on the third season
American Idol (Season 3)
The third season of American Idol premiered on Monday, January 19, 2004 and continued until May 26, 2004. The third season was won by Fantasia Barrino, who defeated Diana DeGarmo by an approximate margin of 2% ; the vote total was the highest recorded vote total in the show's history until the...
of the television series American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
.
Biography
Stevens was born in Buffalo, New YorkBuffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
and his permanent residence is in nearby East Amherst
East Amherst, New York
East Amherst is a hamlet, or unincorporated community. It straddles Transit Road , which in addition to being a major thoroughfare, serves as the boundary separating the towns of Amherst and Clarence in Erie County, New York, United States of America...
. He attended Williamsville East High School
Williamsville East High School
Williamsville East High School is one of the three Williamsville high schools located in the Williamsville Central School District in Williamsville, New York...
and sang in a select jazz group. He auditioned for American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, singing
"That's Amore
That's Amore
"That's Amore" is a 1952 song by composer Harry Warren and lyricist Jack Brooks. It became a major hit, signature song for Dean Martin in 1953. Amore means "love" in Italian....
" as an impression of Dean Martin
Dean Martin
Dean Martin was an American singer, film actor, television star and comedian. Martin's hit singles included "Memories Are Made of This", "That's Amore", "Everybody Loves Somebody", "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You", "Sway", "Volare" and "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?"...
. When the judges asked him to sing in his normal voice, he performed "The Way You Look Tonight
The Way You Look Tonight
"The Way You Look Tonight" is a song featured in the film Swing Time, originally performed by Fred Astaire. It won the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1936. The song was sung to Ginger Rogers as Penelope "Penny" Carroll by Astaire's character of John "Lucky" Garnett while Penny was busy...
" and was sent 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 vote. At 16, he was the youngest contestant ever to make the finals on American Idol
American Idol
American Idol, titled American Idol: The Search for a Superstar for the first season, is a reality television singing competition created by Simon Fuller and produced by FremantleMedia North America and 19 Entertainment...
.
Stevens' favorite singer is Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
, 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
Crooner
Crooner is an American epithet given to male singers of pop standards, mostly from the Great American Songbook, either backed by a full orchestra, a big band or by a piano. Originally it was an ironic term denoting an emphatically sentimental, often emotional singing style made possible by the use...
at such a young age. Stevens' style was not typical Idol fare, causing him to struggle with unfamiliar genres during the competition.
For "Country Week," Stevens sang "King of the Road
King of the Road
- Music :* "King of the Road" , a 1965 song by Roger Miller* King of the Road , an album by Fu Manchu* King of the Road, an EP by The Proclaimers- Other uses :* King of the Road , a contest sponsored by Thrasher magazine...
." During "Elton John Week," he performed "Crocodile Rock
Crocodile Rock
"Crocodile Rock" is a song written by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, and recorded in June 1972 at the Strawberry Studios, Château d'Hérouville in France. It was released on 27 October 1972 in the UK and 20 November 1972 in the US, as a pre-release single from his forthcoming 1973 album Don't Shoot...
."
The last week in April 2004 was "Latin Week," a tribute to the music of Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan
Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García de Estefan; known professionally as Gloria Estefan is a Cuban-born American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known as the "Queen Of Latin Pop", she is in the top 100 best selling music artists with over 100 million albums sold worldwide, 31.5 million of those...
. Stevens performed "Music of My Heart
Music of My Heart
"Music of My Heart" is a song by Cuban American recording artist Gloria Estefan featuring American pop band 'N Sync. The teen pop song was written by Dianne Warren and produced by David Foster, for the Wes Craven directed movie "Music of the Heart" . It was released as the first single from the...
," and Simon Cowell
Simon Cowell
Simon Phillip Cowell is an English A&R executive, television producer, entrepreneur, and television personality. He is known in the United Kingdom and United States for his role as a talent judge on TV shows such as Pop Idol, The X Factor, Britain's Got Talent and American Idol...
credited Stevens with "taking every bullet thrown at you like a man." 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
Maverick Records
Maverick Recording Company is an American record label owned and operated by Warner Music Group, and distributed through Warner Bros. Records.-Company history:...
and released his debut album Red
Red (John Stevens album)
Red is the debut album recorded by American Idol 3 contestant John Stevens. The album peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot Jazz Albums chart, and the song "Come Fly with Me", reached number 27 on the Hot Singles Sales chart.-Track listing:...
on June 28, 2005. It was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Steve Tyrell and executive produced by David Foster
David Foster
David Walter Foster, OC, OBC , is a Canadian musician, record producer, composer, singer, songwriter, and arranger, noted for discovering singers such as Michael Bublé, Josh Groban, and Charice Pempengco; and for producing some of the most successful artists in the world, such as Céline Dion, Toni...
. It features covers of The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
' "Here, There and Everywhere
Here, There and Everywhere
"Here, There and Everywhere" is a song written primarily by Paul McCartney , recorded for The Beatles 1966 album Revolver. In his biography Many Years From Now, McCartney said the song is one of his favourites. Beatles' producer George Martin has also mentioned it as one of his favourite McCartney...
" and Maroon 5
Maroon 5
Maroon 5 is an American pop rock band from Los Angeles, California. While they were in high school, lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Adam Levine, keyboardist Jesse Carmichael, bass guitarist Mickey Madden, and drummer Ryan Dusick formed a garage band called Kara's Flowers and released one album...
'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
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
jazz charts. It sold 18,000 copies as of March 2006. He and Maverick Records have since parted ways.
John graduated from the Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music
Berklee College of Music, located in Boston, Massachusetts, is the largest independent college of contemporary music in the world. Known primarily as a school for jazz, rock and popular music, it also offers college-level courses in a wide range of contemporary and historic styles, including hip...
in Boston, Massachusetts in May 2009 and released a Christmas album, "Home for Christmas," on November 1, 2009.
Stevens currently sings with the Boston-based Beantown Swing Orchestra
Beantown Swing Orchestra
The Beantown Swing Orchestra is a Boston-based 18-piece big band that was formed in 2006 by Frank Hsieh. Initially specializing in performing the classic dance music from the Swing Era, the band has since expanded its repertoire to include music from the 1950s and 1960s, particularly the...
, focusing on the classic big band
Big band
A big band is a type of musical ensemble associated with jazz and the Swing Era typically consisting of rhythm, brass, and woodwind instruments totaling approximately twelve to twenty-five musicians...
arrangements that were originally performed by Frank Sinatra
Frank Sinatra
Francis Albert "Frank" Sinatra was an American singer and actor.Beginning his musical career in the swing era with Harry James and Tommy Dorsey, Sinatra became an unprecedentedly successful solo artist in the early to mid-1940s, after being signed to Columbia Records in 1943. Being the idol of the...
and Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin
Bobby Darin , born Walden Robert Cassotto, was an American singer, actor and musician.Darin performed in a range of music genres, including pop, rock, jazz, folk and country...
.
Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak positions | Certifications (sales threshold Music recording sales certification Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,... ) |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Jazz |
US Heat Top Heatseekers Top Heatseekers refers to either of two separate "Breaking and Entering" music charts issued weekly by Billboard Magazine: the Heatseekers Albums chart or the Heatseekers Songs chart. They were introduced by Billboard in 1993 with the purpose of highlighting the sales by new and developing musical... |
|||
| 2005 | Red Red (John Stevens album) Red is the debut album recorded by American Idol 3 contestant John Stevens. The album peaked at number five on the Billboard Hot Jazz Albums chart, and the song "Come Fly with Me", reached number 27 on the Hot Singles Sales chart.-Track listing:...
|
8 | 17 |
|
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
|||
| 2007 | "Come Fly With Me" | 27 | Red |
External links
- Official website
- John Stevens on MySpaceMySpaceMyspace is a social networking service owned by Specific Media LLC and pop star Justin Timberlake. Myspace launched in August 2003 and is headquartered in Beverly Hills, California. In August 2011, Myspace had 33.1 million unique U.S. visitors....
- John Stevens on TwitterTwitterTwitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...