IdolHeadEd.com - Fifth Place Finishers: Where Are They Now?

Two people are leaving Idol this week. Whoever the second person is who gets voted off joins the following contestants in Idol history who finished in 5^th place. As always, if I’ve omitted anything significant, please email me or comment under the article and I will add the information.

Season 1: RJ Helton

RJ is with Kirk Franklin's Gospo-Centric Records, and his debut cd called “Real Life” was released on March 23, 2004. It made the top 20 of the Billboard Christian charts. Appearances have included “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Today Show,” “Good Morning America,” CNN, MTV’s “Total Request Live”. RJ identified himself as gay in October, 2006. He has been in publications including Billboard, Radio & Records Magazine, People Magazine, US Weekly, Entertainment Weekly, and Metro Source. He was in the January 8, 2007 issue of “US Weekly”, and is currently writing a book.

RJ co-wrote many songs on “Real Life” and is currently back in the studio working on his second cd with producers from Atlanta, Houston, New York and other major cities. With renewed faith and passion for music, RJ intends to break all boundaries and showcase his music as it has never been heard before.

Season 2: Trenyce

After American Idol, Trenyce appeared on “CNN”, “Live with Regis and Kelly”, “Extra”, “ET”, “Fox and Friends”, the “CBS Early Morning Show”, the “Wayne Brady Show”, the “Pulse”, “Inside Edition”, “Good Day Live”, the “Today Show”, “TRL”, and many magazines and newspapers. She was in a musical called ‘Not a Day Goes By’, based on book by E. Lynn Harris, in early 2004. Trenyce was also in ‘On Air with Ryan Seacrest’, in April and May of 2004, and ‘Cold Pizza’, a sports/talk/news show in August 2004. She had a cameo in ‘Beauty Shop’ with Queen Latifah, which came out in 2005. Wikipedia notes that Trenyce was honored by both the Mayor of Shelby County and the Mayor of the City of Memphis and given a certificate of achievement as well as a key to the city.

In November, 2006, Trenyce posted on her myspace that she starred in “Soul Kittens Cabaret” which toured 15 cities in November. She also worked on the production of “Mama’s Sweet Potato Pie”, and headlined at the Aladdin and Sahara Hotel in Las Vegas for two months. Trenyce is in pre-production for the show “Invisible Life”. She was also in the Indianapolis tour of “Dreamgirls” as Deena Jones.

According to ClassicTrenyce, a fansite, and Trenyce’s myspace, Trenyce has been starring in the musical “Love in the Nyck of Time” which has been touring major U.S. cities since January. While on a break from the show, Trenyce went to Los Angeles to meet with producers and songwriters to start work on her debut cd. When the show finishes in May, Trenyce will move to Hollywood to begin recording. Trenyce has a new website, TrenyceOnline.com, where you can find out the latest information. (I couldn’t get this to work but supposedly it will be functional soon). Good luck with all of this, Trenyce! I know we have not heard the last of you!

Season 3: George Huff

George’s cd, called “Miracles”, was released on a Christian record label called Word Records in 2005. The first single, “Brighter Day”, only sold 18,000 copies. Also in 2005, George’s home in Louisiana was affected by Hurricane Katrina. He left New Orleans and stayed at his brother's house in Dallas, and is still in Dallas.

George has kept busy performing all over the country. Recent performances have included an October 2006 concert at West Virginia University, and a December 2006 Christmas show in Salinas, California.
Upcoming appearances include Norfolk, Virginia at the Dick Price Stadium on May 19; Louisville Kentucky at the Six Flags for Gospel Week on June 23; Shirleysburg, PA at the Creation Festival on June 28; Mount Vernon, Ohio at the Kenyon Athletic Center on October 5; and Salinas, California for Christmas on Main Street on December 7, 2007.

People Magazine reports that George is making a career in Christian music, and was on a Billy Graham special last year. He performs crusades dates with Will Graham. Currently, he is working on another cd. I wish him much success with this.

Season 4: Scott Savol

Scott has sold karaoke machines on QVC, sent fans tins of Hershey's kisses and sang the national anthem at pro sports games. Scott signed with Verge Management, along with fellow American Idol 4 contestant Jessica Sierra.

Last summer was a busy one for Scott. In July, he lost 20 pounds, and told his fans that he plans to lose all his excess weight and be physically fit in time for his cd's debut. He was also writing and recording as of last summer, in addition to getting married! He sang “God Bless America” to kick off auto races across the country. In January, 2007, he was on “Maddie in the Morning” in Canton, Ohio. He has continued to appear at various events, most recently in Canton and North Canton, Ohio.

People Magazine reports that Scott lives in Nashville, is friends with other past idols Jessica Sierra and Bo Bice, and is working on writing and recording songs for his cd. I always liked Scott, and I wish him success with his cd.

Season 5: Paris Bennett

The following information is from Wikipedia. After Idol, Paris appeared on shows including “The Tonight Show”, “Total Request Live”, “Ellen”, “Entertainment Tonight”, “Live with Regis and Kelly”, “On Air with Ryan Seacrest”, and the “Today Show”. People Magazine reports that she also completed her senior year of high school via correspondence.

Musically, Paris has been busy. She sang the National Anthem at the Pistons and Miami Heat game on May 30, 2006. She also held a homecoming concert in Rockford, Illinois. Paris recorded a duet with John Debney, called “The Tigers”, on the official soundtrack of the movie “Everyone’s Hero”. She performed with her mother at the 2006 Divas Simply Singing AIDS benefit, and at another concert to raise awareness of domestic violence.

In other news, Paris also has plans to develop a clothing line, “Tres P” for Three Times the Paris.

According to Wikipedia, she will perform along with Mandisa and Kevin Covais at the Walt Disney Christmas Special. She is also singing on the Walt Disney Cruise to St. Lucia with Bianca Ryan, who won “America’s Got Talent” (or something like that). Paris also sang the National Anthem at the Minnesota Twins home opening game on April 2, 2007. Upcoming apprearances according to Paris’ myspace include Splash Down Beach Water Park in Fishkill, NY on June 22; Ives Concert Park in Danbury, Connecticut on June 14; and Hicksville High School in Hicksville, NY on August 3.

Paris is signed to 306 Entertainment,which is owned by Paul Jones, her uncle. Her debut cd, called “Princess P”, is set for release on May 8 of this year, and is R & B and pop music. Paris co-wrote the cd with J. Isaac, and says it is based on her experiences before, during, and after American Idol.
You can listen to four songs from the cd on Paris’ myspace. This includes the lead single "Ordinary Love", "I Will", "I'm So Hot", and "Dreamin". Wikipedia says that Paris has also confirmed tracks "B-Bye", "Best Friend" (with Jamecia Bennett, Ann Nesby, ad Shirley Bennett), "Let Me Rap" (featuring Kevin Covais), a track with Lisa Tucker, and one or more jazz tracks. Paris is also featured on Radio Disney's Incubator. You can hear her music, read her blog, and find out more Paris news here.

The video to "Ordinary Love" was officially released onto Yahoo's Music Site: www.music.yahoo.com on April 23, 2007. I wish Paris much success with her upcoming cd. I have a feeling she will be around for a long, long time.

Note to Readers:

The idols for next week’s article on 4^th place finishers are: Tamyra Gray, Josh Gracin, LaToya London, Anthony Federov, and Chris Daughtry. If there is anything you would like included about any of them, please email me at andmeljar@aol.com. I think I better start working on this group immediately; it’s going to be a long article!!!