After watching the Los Angeles auditions this season on "American Idol," I couldn't wait to hear more from this one particular contestant.
He had a great story -- trying to emerge from poverty as a single dad while resisting joining gangs in the mean streets of Compton -- a wonderful voice and a certain je ne sais quoi that reminded me of one of my best friends.
That contestant, of course, was Andrew Garcia.
Naturally, I had to tell my friend and fraternity brother from Cleveland, Nathan Olmeda, about this guy that reminds me of him. His response?
Something like: "Andrew Garcia? Man, I've been following him on YouTube for the longest." Nate hasn't followed "Idol" too closely in recent years, but being a fan of Garcia brought him back in this season.
There's no question many "Idol" contestants have appeared on the Internet before entering the competition. But it's interesting to see the route people take to potential stardom. And through YouTube, contestants such as Garcia have a built-in fan base (even if that is minuscule compared to what you would need to win the show).
Now that Garcia made it to Hollywood on his performance of "Sunday Morning" by Maroon 5, then made a huge splash with his acoustic remake of Paula Abdul's "Straight Up", I thought now is the right time to hear from one of his relatively longtime fans.
Here's what Nate had to say:
YouTube is full of singers trying to make a name for themselves. I should know ... I'm one of them!
I have been putting up videos on the site for over a year. When I began I figured I should subscribe to other YouTubers who sang -- partly to check out the competition, but mostly to find inspiration from other music lovers who were putting their hearts on the line in the hopes that someone would notice them.
It was about a year ago when I came across a voice that I can only describe as genius. The first thing I noticed about Andrew Garcia's voice was the raspy, soulful timbre. I quickly realized that his talent did not end there. Andrew has recorded videos of himself singing the songs of numerous artists, and not once did he ever sound like the original recording.
He composes his arrangements so that they suit his vocal range, thus he is able to give them a flair that no one else can mimic. His sound is versatile, his image is edgy, and his mind is creative. These are the makings of the "it" factor that so many people talk about, people like Simon Cowell. Well, Simon has heard "it" and more from Andrew Garcia thus far on the current season of "AI."
There is no doubt in my mind that America will be falling in love with this young vocalist soon enough.
A funny thing happened as I was writing this post. Fellow Idolholic Angie Spencer informed me that she, too, has a friend who followed Garcia for some time on YouTube.
Sherry Canono of St. Louis says she didn't realize at first that Garcia the "Idol" contestant is the same Andrew Garcia from YouTube. Now that she knows, Canono has a good idea who she'll root for.
Here's what she had to say:
I knew about Andrew on YouTube by watching Cathy Nguyen. I was a Cathy Nguyen fan way before I knew about Andrew. I've always followed Cathy and watched all her video uploads online. By the way, Cathy Nguyen is an awesome singer!
Part of the reason why I am all for Team Garcia to win this season's "American Idol" is because he shares half of the same nationality as me. I found out he has Filipino roots! I'm not discriminating on the other contestants, it's just cool to know that someone that has the same roots/ethnicity as you is on "Idol" and that sort of gives you the sense of connection to the contest. It's like he's representing where you came from!
Anyway, my favorite song that Andrew sings on YouTube is Keri Hilson's "Knock You Down." He sings it as a duet with Cathy. My favorite song so far that he has done on "Idol" is Paula Abdul's "Straight Up." He's just very unique whenever he plays/sings cover versions of songs that are already out there in the music world. I'd really like to hear more originals from him.
I was also shocked to find out more information about his family life/struggles from "Idol." He apparently has a son and his dad's upbringing was gang-related. That doesn't stop me from voting for Garcia, though!The man has killer talent, and in a competition like this, the prior exposure doesn't hurt. In a few months, we'll see whether the next chapter of Andrew Garcia's life story comes with the coveted title of "American Idol."
Watch a performance of an original Andrew Garcia song:
More Andrew Garcia links
- MySpace
- YouTube (videos removed)
- Andrew Garcia blog
