Brandon Rogers (born December 11, 1977) is an American singer who has worked as a professional backup vocalist, and who was the 12th place finalist on the sixth season of American Idol.
Early Years[]
Rogers is a graduate of the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. Rogers attended UNT from 1996 to 1999 and performed in the UNT Jazz Singers, the centerpiece ensemble of the university's vocal jazz studies program. His classmates included Grammy-winning musician Norah Jones and singer song-writer David Angerstein. Rogers' mother is a published songwriter.
His first big break was part of a group brought together through a radio boy band competition in Dallas, Texas in 2000. The Kidd Kraddick in the Morning show on 106.1 "KISS-FM" put together an audition originally as a joke to see if they could really construct a boy band. However, they ended up with five talented singers which they named Sons of Harmony. Mexican pop singer Marcos Hernandez was also a member of this band. When the group broke up, Brandon moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in music.
Career[]
As a professional backup vocalist, Rogers performed on Justin Timberlake and Christina Aguilera's 2003 Justified and Stripped Tour and Anastacia's 2005 Encore Tour. Rogers has also worked as a voice coach and wedding singer.
American Idol[]
Rogers auditioned for American Idol in Los Angeles, where the judges (including guest judge Olivia Newton-John) were impressed with his vocals. Judge Simon Cowell later mentioned he was the best who auditioned from Los Angeles. He got through the subsequent Hollywood, cut-down, and semi-final rounds to make the Top 12 finals round. However, in his initial performance he forgot the words to several bars of "You Can't Hurry Love", and was the first finalist eliminated from the show on March 14, 2007. Neither Rogers nor 11th place finisher Stephanie Edwards were invited to perform on the American Idol annual summer tour.
Post Idol[]
On May 12, 2008 Rogers guest starred on the crime drama Bones on FOX. He will appear as a recurring character on a web-oriented series "Valley Peaks". Authentik Artists released his album, Automatic, on July 24, 2006. The album features the single "Broken".
In June 2008 Brandon starred as one of the headliners for a live music show in Branson, MO, named "America's Favorite Finalists". The show featured 6 top 12 American Idol Finalists performing their own music, cover songs and group numbers. The show ran at the Grand Palace and was produced by Steve Drummond.
Hosting[]
Brandon now recaps Idol on Yahoo! Music's "The Day After", which he co-hosts alongside Reality Rocks blogger Lyndsey Parker. He had guest-hosted the show before in the past.
Discography[]
Albums:
- Automatic (2006)
| Season 6 |
| Finalists |
| Jordin Sparks · Blake Lewis · Melinda Doolittle · LaKisha Jones · Chris Richardson · Phil Stacey · Sanjaya Malakar · Haley Scarnato · Gina Glocksen · Chris Sligh · Stephanie Edwards · Brandon Rogers |
| Semifinalists |
| Sundance Head · Sabrina Sloan · Antonella Barba · Jared Cotter · Leslie Hunt · A.J. Tabaldo · Alaina Alexander · Nicholas Pedro · Rudy Cardenas · Nicole Tranquillo · Amy Krebs · Paul Kim |