American Idol Profile: Who is Season 10 Finalist Casey Abrams?

Casey Abrams was named one of the top 11 finalists for Season 10 of "American Idol," the popular Fox Television musical contest and reality TV show, in 2011. As such, Abrams is listed for the 2011 "Idols Live" nationwide tour.

California singer Abrams auditioned for "Idol" in Austin, Texas, playing the melodica and singing Ray Charles' "I Don't Need No Doctor." The bearded redhead won the "Idol" judges over immediately.

A one-man band with a bluesy appeal.

The 2009 graduate of Idyllwild Arts Academy, Abrams has studied music at the University of Colorado at Boulder. The 20-year-old multi-talented musician plays several instruments, including accordion, bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, sitar and upright bass. He has already written several songs and scored a few films, while playing in local jazz venues.

For his own musical influences, Abrams points to Bobby DeFrancisco, Ray Charles, Marshall Hawkins, Wynton Marsalis, Oscar Peterson, Queen, Frank Sinatra, James Taylor and Lawrence Welk. His tastes in music have included Freddie Mercury, Esperanza Spaulding, Tenacious D and more. He has said he would love to perform Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody."

Abrams was born February 12, 1991, in Texas. His family moved to the Chicago North Shore suburbs when he was a child, relocating later to Idyllwild, California. As an Idyllwild Arts freshman, Abrams is rumored to have attended prom with fellow "Idol" contestant Julie Zorrilla.

His father Ira Abrams is a film production teacher at Idyllwild, having formerly taught at Columbia College of Chicago. His mother Pam Pierce co-founded CineStory, an American screenwriting organization.

  

Joining "Idol" finalists through two surprise events.

Initially, Abrams did not plan to try out for "Idol," but he happened to be visiting his uncle Steve Pierce in Austin when the auditions came to town and decided to go for it. Recognized early as a front runner, Abrams faced elimination on the March 24 Top 11 results show until the judges exercised their one save of the season to keep him on "Idol."

Abrams has ulcerative colitis, an inflammatory bowel disease, which resulted in two hospitalizations during "Idol" Season 10. The blues bassist Tweets about loving horses and avoiding recreational drugs.

In the early weeks of the competition, Abrams sang Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You," Joe Cocker's "With a Little Help from My Friends," Nirvana's "Smells Like Teen Spirit" and Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine."

America has a Casey Abrams on each coast.

"Idol" finalist Casey Abrams is altogether different from the Boston-based folk singer of the same name, who performs as Casey Abrams and the Mysterious Strangers. That Casey Abrams, a Southerner now based in Boston with training in jazz guitar and music composition, actually sounds more like Don McLean or Paul Simon than the soulful rocker of "Idol" Season 10.

  

source:By Linda Ann Nickerson, Yahoo! Contributor Network