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Constantine Maroulis Profile |
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Birth Date: September 17, 1975
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Birth Place: Brooklyn, New York, USA
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Birth Name: Constantine James Maroulis
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Height: 6'3½"
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Biography |
Constantine James Maroulis is a Greek-American rock singer,
actor, and writer who was the lead vocalist of the hard rock
band Pray for the Soul of Betty and the 6th-place finalist
on the fourth season of the reality television series
American Idol. He was the seventh finalist eliminated from
American Idol on April 27, 2005.
Maroulis was born in Brooklyn to Greek parents, James
Constantine Maroulis and Constance P. Maroulis (born 1938).
Both maternal and paternal grandparents immigrated to the
States from Greece in the 1920s. He was brought up in the
Greek Orthodox religion. He can speak Greek. His older
brother Athanasios Demetrios Maroulis (born 1964) is a
record producer and his sister Anastacia P. Maroulis (born
1968) is a New York schoolteacher. They also have 20
cousins. When Maroulis was five years old his family moved
to Wyckoff, New Jersey, an affluent suburb of New York City,
where he grew up. At that time he developed an interest in
music, following his older brother's lead who was performing
in professional bands and pursuing a career in the record
business, and being influenced by the piano and records his
family listened to. By age eleven he was studying the
trumpet at Eisenhower Middle School. He later sang in high
school garage bands, including Lady Rain. In high school, he
claims to have been shy and nerdy. He graduated from Ramapo
High School in 1993 and moved on to The Boston Conservatory
of Music. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in
2002, majoring in musical theater with a minor in voice
performance from Berklee College of Music.
Some years before appearing on Idol, Maroulis competed on
the dating show Elimidate and was an extra in NBC's Law and
Order: SVU and the WB's Astro Boy.
He has a cavalcade of off-Broadway roles from the
Conservatory, along with a series of independent films.
After graduating the Conservatory, Maroulis trained as a
director's apprentice at the Williamstown Theatre Festival
in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts and toured in the
Broadway international touring company of Rent as the lead
role Roger Davis. His role as Roger was non- equity. Since
he had no agent representing him, he was allowed to appear
on American Idol. As of 2006, Maroulis is now represented by
the Creative Artists Agency.
In August 2004, supposedly upon an ex-girlfriend's
suggestion, Maroulis traveled to Washington DC to audition
for the television show American Idol. During the semifinals
and finals of Idol, he was the subject of an internet meme,
the Vote for the Worst online campaign provided by the
Internet community, "Survivor Sucks" before the website
switched focus to Scott Savol, as a result of fan
complaints. Both contestants Savol and Maroulis received
slightly more votes than expected by the judges which
allowed the two to advance to the final six, to Simon
Cowell's dismay.
For the 2005 season, Idol producers raised their required
age limit from 16-26 to 16-28. Along with Bo Bice, he was
one of the oldest contestants to audition and participate on
American Idol, as well as being the oldest contestants to
have progressed the farthest in the singing competition.
Maroulis and Bice are also notable for being among the first
contestants to compete using the rock idiom.
On April 27, 2005, Maroulis, who received over 35 million
votes over the course of the season, was voted off American
Idol after he performed Nickelback's "How You Remind Me"
during the 2000's music round. He was in the bottom three
behind Vonzell Solomon and Anthony Fedorov. His sixth-place
ouster surprised some afficionados, including a tearful
Paula Abdul. Less than a week before his elimination,
Maroulis's pre-Idol band, Pray For The Soul Of Betty,
announced the May 10 release of their epynomic debut of
their pre-recorded, self-produced audio compact disc on
their own record label, Baby Julius, through a distribution
deal with Koch. Maroulis was featured on the American Idol
Season 4: The Showstoppers compilation with "My Funny
Valentine" on the American Idol RCA record label, a division
of Sony BMG. His rendition of the Queen classic "Bohemian
Rhapsody" also earned him the praise of judges, including
the usually harsh Simon Cowell. Maroulis later recorded a
studio version of the track for Killer Queen: A Tribute to
Queen, which was released on August 9, 2005 on Queen's
label, Hollywood Records, a division of Universal. |
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Other Information |
He is of Greek descent and was raised in the Greek Orthodox
Church, where he was an altar boy and youth group leader.
He is the younger brother of recording artist and record
reproducer Athan Maroulis. He also has an older
sister,Anastasia, who works in the field of education.
His band received a distribution deal with Koch Records
while he was still a contestant on American Idol. Koch also
has signed Ian Brown of Stone Roses fame, Wyclef Jean,
William Hung, The Kinks, and Leonard Bernstein, among
others.
He is the oldest contestant in the top twelve of American
Idol Season Four, being just one month older than Bo Bice.
He grew up in Wyckoff, New Jersey.
His favorite drink is a cold Corona with a splash of
Tabasco. He calls this drink "Hot Lips."
He graduated from the Boston Conservatory in 2002 with a
bachelor's degree in fine arts. At Bostom Conservatory, he
specialized in musical theater, studying acting and vocal
performance.
He is a 1993 alumni from Ramapo High School (Bergen County,
New Jersey).
Shares the same birthdate as actor Austin St. John.
His favorite food is pasta.
Loves washing dishes, he calls it 'theraputic'.
Went to high school with Tara Reid.
Has a fan base called "Greek God Groupies" and the "Betties"
Is good friends with fellow Idol contestant, Bo Bice.
His hero is his cousin, "Gus", who died in the 9/11 attacks.
Has a band called Pray For The Soul of Betty.
He was once an extra on the crime drama Law and Order:
Special Victims Unit. |
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