Stefano Langone - Idoloonies/Idolatry Interview with Michael Slezak

American Idol contestant Stefano Langone chats with Michael Slezak from TVLine.com
Talks about his piano skills, singing Lionel Richie's "Hello", and Gordon Ramsay's bad behavior.

Jacob Lusk, Paul McDonald, Stefano Langone and James Durbin sing “Sounds of Silence”/”Mrs Robinson”

American Idol Season 10 contestants Jacob Lusk, Paul McDonald, Stefano Langone and James Durbin sing Simon and Garfunkel's hit songs “Sounds of Silence” and ”Mrs Robinson” from the movie The Graduate.

American Idol's Stefano Langone Performs “Closer”

American Idol Season 10's Stefano Langone performs “Closer” by Ne-Yo. The theme for the Top 7 Week was "Songs of the 21st Century". Producer Jimmy Iovine gets down on Stefano during rehearsal, saying, "It's not whining. It's not begging. It's sexy. Sexy comes with a certain amount of confidence. He can move, what's he doing stalking the stage pleading?"

So, what do the other contestants think of Stefano? "Stefano tries to be a ladies man. Hard core," says Lauren Alaina. "There's just something about a women," says Stefano, "It's the fruit of life." They all tease Stefano about what a big flirt he is.

Stefano takes the stage with confidence. He struts a bit. His vocals are very strong, especially the first chorus. Then it all fell off for me. When Stefano started to move around the stage, with his pants way too tight across the thighs, I felt like I was watching people dancing in a Richard Simmons or Jane Fonda workout video. Flashback to the workout scenes in Rocky... t was all just a little too distracting. Randy Jackson said, "Dude you turned me around. You did a very good job, you smoothed it out. And what I love that you did, you took your time singing the verses. We know you have the power and are going to slay it at the end with all your big huge notes. I was really proud of you. You kinda worked the dance steps out a little bit." Steven Tyler raved, "Nobody can say you weren't all up in it. I hoped you would dance and you did. Good job. Really good." JLo added, "Speaking for the girls in the audience, I thought it was very, very good. You really had your swag going on. I really liked it. It felt like a concert. It felt good, like a performance. You owned the song. Really good job."

American Idol Profile: Who is Season 10 Finalist Stefano Langone?

Stefano Langone was chosen as a top 11 finalist for Season 10 of "American Idol," the popular Fox Television musical contest and reality TV show, in 2011. As such, Langano is listed for the 2011 "Idols Live" nationwide tour.

Langone auditioned for "Idol" in Nashville, singing a howlingly soulful version of Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine." Immediately, the judges compared the then-21-year-old singer and piano player to Bruno Mars and "Idol" Season 7 finalist David Archuleta.

"This kid could be on the radio right now," Randy Jackson exclaimed after a Langone performance.

The crooning comeback kid of "Idol" Season 10

After a near-brush with death in a May 2009 car crash with a drunk driver, Langone spent several months in a wheelchair. Paramedics carved up the car to remove him, and surgeons place plates and screws in his left arm, right wrist and left pelvis. The fresh-faced singer rolled up his sleeves in his first "Idol" audition, boldly displaying scars from the accident.

"They told me that I wouldn't be able to walk or write or be the same" the young singer explained. "I got on my feet in less than four months."

A year later, in May 2010, Langone was arrested near Seattle for driving under the influence, failing breathalyzer and field sobriety tests administered by the Washington State Patrol. He was released on bail and ordered to take an alcohol and drug class.

Fresh-faced future pop star

Born February 27, 1989, in Kent, Washington, Langone graduated from Kentwood High School and attended Bellevue College.

Saved as a judges' wild card to make the "Idol" finals, Langone has several years of formal singing training. His vocal work has focused on a capella, classical training and jazz. Langone credits Stevie Wonder and his own father Ernest Langone as musical influences. His favorite artists have included N'Sync, The Three Tenors and Ella Fitzgerald.

The baby-faced heartthrob and songwriter revealed that he has dreamed of singing at the Super Bowl and at the Grammy Awards with his father since he was a child. His grandfather Don Langone owned San Jose's Langone Music Store, where he offered music lessons.

His mother proved her personal prowess, becoming a culinary favorite of the Season 10 finalists by whipping up a home-cooked Italian meal in the "Idol" mansion. Although "Hell's Kitchen" celebrity chef Gordon Ramsey dissed her cooking on-camera, "Idol" host Ryan Seacrest and Langone's fellow contestants raved about the authentic dishes.

During the early weeks of Season 10, Langone sang Mars' "Just the Way You Are," Smokie Norful's " Need You Now," Wonder's "Lately," Simply Red's version of Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes' "If You Don't Know Me by Now" and Lionel Richie's "Hello."


source:Linda Ann Nickerson, Yahoo! Contributor Network

Live at American Idol: Why Did James Durbin Storm Offstage After the Top 7 Results Show?

After tonight's not-so-shocking American Idol elimination, we were kind of surprised to see James Durbin get as emotional as he did after the cameras stopped rolling.
While the eliminee seemed to accept his loss, James clearly wasn't happy with the results.

So what exactly happened?

Every Idol fan knew it was only a matter of time before Stefano Langone's spotlight would go out. After repeatedly landing in the bottom three, it was obvious he wasn't a fan favorite. But his number was up, even though Jennifer Lopez may love him — and from our seat behind the judges table, it was obvious James does too.

After Haley Reinhart was sent to safety and the show cut to commercial, Jacob Lusk didn't seem to know what to do. If he wasn't fidgeting in his chair or pacing around the Idol stage ignoring the screaming fans, he looked dazed, confused and totally lost that he was this close to losing his shot at Idol glory. Stefano, on the other hand, was totally relaxed. It seemed like he knew what was coming: He took time to hug Idol's stage manager and other production people and even wandered over to the couches where he and James embraced in one big, fat, bro hug. It was really cute and actually made us a little sad.

As the results were read, James sat on the couch hunched over, his head in his hands. He couldn't even look up when Ryan Seacrest told Stefano his time on Idol was over. We even spotted James wiping away tears! He may be an edgy rocker on the outside, but he's truly an emotional guy and was honestly upset to see Stefano go. So much so that after the show ended, instead of lingering onstage with the other contestants, James took off without so much as a glance to anyone, head hung down, obviously disappointed with America's decision.

Speaking of disappointment, want to know a secret? The Katy Perry "E.T." wannabe Lady Gaga performance with a surprise cameo of Kanye West wasn't live. Because of the fancy lasers, lobster-skeleton-looking throne she was pushed around on and the choreography, it had to be taped after last week's performance show. We were there, and it took more than 40 minutes to set up, then Katy performed it three times. So when Ryan Seacrest announced Katy, the entire Idol audience stood up to get a good look — only to be utterly confused and, dare we say, pissed that they weren't seeing Mrs. Brand in all her Top 40 pop glory.

Do you think James should have held his emotions in? Was Stefano the right person to be eliminated? Do you think Katy Perry was trying too hard to be like Lady Gaga? Let us know in the comments!

source: Aimee Curran, eonline

American Idol's Stefano Langone Sings "Tiny Dancer" on Top 11 Revived

Stefano Langone, American Idol Season 10's 'Teen Idol', sings "Tiny Dancer". Idol hopefuls take on the classics by the legendary Sir Elton John in this week's 'Top 11 Revived' Show.

Interscope Producer Jimmy Iovine really cracked the whip on Stefano this week. "Tiny Dancer" is a very hard song to sing since it was written specifically for Elton John's voice. But, luckily, Stefano got it. This was a much better performance than last week! Stefano hit all the notes, and even invented a new word - ballerinum. Someone must have finally told Stefano that being 'emotional' and 'connecting with the audience' come from his voice, and have nothing to do with making excruciatingly painful faces with your eyebrows all screwed up. He still overacted and hammed it up a little, but nothing compared to previous weeks. I really liked him this week, and I think that relaxing his facial muscles kept him from being in the bottom 3 again. Jennifer Lopez said, "I could really feel you taking our notes, connecting with the audience. I really feel like you moved the crowd today. Amazing." 

Randy Jackson added, "What I loved about this performance, more than anything, you started connecting with the audience. Your eyes were open. I liked that you were moving around the stage. And when you hit the high note, when you hit the money notes, you were right on. Very nice job." Steven Tyler was delighted by Stefano again. "There’s a real sweet thing to your voice. Tonight, you just connected with the audience. You nailed it. I thought it was really good."

Getting to Know American Idol's Stefano Langone

American Idol Season 10's 'Teen Idol' is 22 year old singer and piano-player Stefano Langone. Stefano comes from Kent, Washington and auditioned for American Idol in San Francisco, California. Unfortunately, Stefano was not one the Top 5 male vote getters in the semi-final round to advance. Consequently, he was one of the six contestants (3 girls and 3 guys) selected by the judges to sing for a 'Wild Card' spot, and he then advanced to the Top 13.

Since advancing to the Top 13, Stefano has shown he is one of the most passionate, heart-felt singers in this year's Idol competition. The audience goes crazy each time Stefano performs, and the judges rave. From comments the judges have made, it's obvious they think Stefano is a dark-horse in the competition who could win the whole thing! This week, judge Randy Jackson said, "You can definitely sing. You're one of the better singers we have." And when Stefano sang Simply Red's "If You Don't Know Me by Now," Randy said, "The best performance of the night! Hot vocals, Baby!" Jennifer Lopez praised Stefano saying, "You could take this thing. You're great!" Stefano also received huge praise after singing Stevie Wonder's "Lately". Not only did Steven Tyler give Stefano a standing ovation, but Randy raved, "It's so hard to sing Stevie. He'd be proud of this. You slayed it! You were soaring!"

Stefano's favorite quote is "Live life to the fullest!" Stevie Wonder has been Stefano's greatest musical influence throughout his life.

BIOGRAPHY
Stefano Langone was born February 27th, 1989 to Ernest Langone, a singer and musician. Stefano has been singing and playing the piano since childhood. He studied at Kentwood High School in Covington, Washington and Bellevue College in Seattle. Stefano performed with Bellevue College's 'Celebration!' vocal jazz ensemble while a student. He had previously collaborated with a local rapper to produce hip-hop music.

In May 28, 2009 Stefano was involved in a near-fatal accident after being hit by a drunk driver. He suffered two broken arms, a fractured pelvis and other serious injuries. Stefano had to re-learn how to walk, and he has extensive scarring as a result of the accident.

Stefano Langone says "Hello" on the American Idol Top 11 Show

American Idol Season 10's Heartthrob Stefano Langone performs Lionel Ritchie's "Hello". Idol contestants pay tribute to the Motor City ~ Motown ~ for the theme of the Top 11 Show. "I grew up on Motown," says Stefano.

Stefano picked "Hello" because he knew "it was a song I could really connect with, really deliver well." Stefano changed his style a bit, he needed to "pull back, since the song is so intimate, I need to let it grow, let it blossom." Stefano did a beautiful job with this song, especially since Lionel Ritchie songs are so hard to sing. The audience loved it. But the American Idol judges did't seem to think he fully connected.

Jennifer Lopez, with a huge smile for her 'Baby' Stefano said, "We want you to connect. I want you to sing like you’re telling somebody a story. I don't want the intensity to come from you wanting to do well, but because your heart is breaking. Once you do that, you're gonna fly right out of this building. But you gotta make that connection. You sounded beautiful." Randy Jackson agreed with Jennifer, saying, "The only thing you're missing is that connection. Cuz you can sing, you can soar. You bit off a big chuck today. You can definitely sing, one of the better singers we have here. But there was no real emotion." Steven Tyler said, "You ramped up too soon. But your voice is so beautiful, just gotta pull back a little bit, and you’ll have it. So go kiss some girls." Great advice! The judges really love Stefano, and are giving him the tools he needs to potentially win Season 10.

American Idol Hottie STEFANO LANGONE Makes the Girls Swoon with "If You Don't Know Me By Now"

Stefano Langone, American Idol Season 10's #1 hottie, gave a heart-felt performance of Simply Red's version of "If You Don't Know Me By Now" on the Top 12 show. This week, Idol contestants were given the theme 'songs from your year of birth'. Stefano was born on February 27th, 1989 into a musical family. Stefano says his father was a big musical influence. "When I was looking for songs that were released in 1989," said Stefano, "I found some real winners. Milli Vanilli, New Kids on the Block, and Simply Red."

Ryan Seacrest reminded everyone to purchase the night's songs on Itunes, with profits going to the American Red Cross for Japan earthquake and tsunami relief. (Just click the American Idol Season 10 Top 12 album, below video.)

"If You Don't Know Me by Now" was first recorded by the jersey soul musical group Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, with the late Teddy Pendergrass as lead vocalist. It became their first hit after being released as a single in 1972, topping the R&B chart and peaking at #3 on the Pop chart. The song was originally written for Labelle (a trio led by Patti LaBelle) but they never recorded it. Patti LaBelle made the song part of her concert repertoire in 1982, and a live version appears on her 1985 album, Patti.

It was later covered by the English pop/soul band Simply Red in 1989, also becoming their best-known hit after reaching #1 on the U.S. Hot 100 and at #38 on the Hot Black Singles chart. It peaked at #2 in the UK Singles Chart. It also topped the Canadian Singles Chart. Seal recorded the song for his 2008 album Soul, and it became his first Top 10 Adult Contemporary hit since "Love's Divine" in 2004; the song was subsequently nominated for the Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy.

American Idol's Stefano Langone sings "Just the Way You Are" on American Idol Top 12 Guys Show!

American Idol Season 10's Stefano Langone sings "Just the Way You Are" by Bruno Mars during the Top 12 Males competition. Steven Tyler: “I like the way your voice cut through the air in the room. You are so good.” Jennifer Lopez: “You’re so consistent. There’s nothing awkward about you up there. You’re a beast up there.”