Dalton Rapattoni (born February 6, 1996) is an American singer from Sunnyvale, Texas, who finished in 3rd place in Season 15 of American Idol.
Background[]
Born in Memphis, Tennessee, and raised in Sunnyvale, Texas, Dalton, who first began playing guitar at age eleven, first gained notice when he took part in a national talent search and became a part of a boy band called IM5 in 2012. He left the group in 2014 and reformed his original band, Fly Away Heroes, with some new members. He had even released a single called "Stop" in 2014. He was working as a vocal coach at the School of Rock when he decided to try out for Idol.
Rapattoni was born in Memphis, Tennessee, on February 6, 1996, to Kiva Jackson Rapattoni and Fran Rapattoni. He has two sisters, Rebecca, and Sophie. When he was two the family moved to Sunnyvale, Texas where he was raised.After being diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age nine, he was withdrawn from school after medications used to treat the condition caused seizures.
He began to learn to play guitar when he was eleven. When he was twelve, he started attending the School of Rock in Dallas and also at Frisco, Texas. Later he also worked as a teacher at the School of Rock at Dallas and Rockwall. He formed a local band with friends called Fly Away Hero.
When he was fifteen, he went to Los Angeles to audition for a boyband IM5 and became part of the band.He lived temporarily in California during his time with IM5. In March of 2014, Dalton revealed that he had left IM5. He returned to his band Fly Away Hero and began to write and record an EP with the band, who at the time already had a few EP's out prior to Dalton's time with IM5.
American Idol[]
Dalton Rapattoni auditioned in Little Rock, Arkansas, with "Phantom of the Opera" by Andrew Lloyd Webber and received a ticket to Hollywood. During Hollywood's Lines of Ten, he performed "California Dreamin'" by The Mamas & The Papas where he advanced passed the Group Round and performed "Hopelessly Devoted to You" by Olivia Newton-John for his Hollywood Solo round. He then advanced to Showcase week where he performed "It's Gonna Be Me" by NSYNC and advanced to the Top 24. During the Top 24, he performed "Rebel Yell" by Billy Idol and performed a duet with Chris Daughtry singing "Higher Ground" by Stevie Wonder. Afterwards, he advanced to the Top 14 where he received a designated spot in Season 15's Top 10 by the Judges and didn't have to perform for America's Vote. During the Top 10, he performed "Hey There Delilah" by The Plain White T's. He advanced to the Top 8 and performed "Radioactive" by Imagine Dragons. He made the Top 6 where he performed "Eleanor Rigby" by the Beatles. However, his performance of it was seen as polarizing by some because of it being seen as similar to the version done by David Cook during Season 7.
Audition[]
Hollywood Round[]
Top 24[]
Wild-Card[]
Top 10[]
Top 8[]
Top 6[]
Top 5[]
Top 4[]
Top 3[]
Season 15 Finale[]
Performances[]
| Episode | Theme | Song choice | Original artist | Order # | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audition | Auditioner's Choice | "The Phantom of the Opera" | Andrew Lloyd Webber | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood Round, Lines of Ten | A Capella | "California Dreamin'" | The Mamas & The Papas | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood Round, Group Round | Group Performance | Treasure | Bruno Mars | N/A | Advanced |
| Hollywood Round, Solo Round | Solo | "Hopelessly Devoted to You" | Olivia Newton-John | N/A | Advanced |
| Showcase Week | Personal Choice | "It's Gonna Be Me" | NSYNC | N/A | Advanced |
| Top 24 | Contestant's Choice & Idol Duets | "Rebel Yell" | Billy Idol | 11 | Advanced |
| Duet "Higher Ground" with Chris Daughtry | Stevie Wonder | 10 | |||
| Top 14 | Favorite Moment | No Performance | - | - | Advanced |
| Top 10 | Contestant's Choice | "Hey There Delilah" | Plain White T's | 5 | Safe |
| Top 8 | Contestant's Choice | "Radioactive" | Imagine Dragons | 1 | Safe |
| Top 6 | American Idol All Time Song Book | "I Want It That Way" duet with MacKenzie Bourg |
Backstreet Boys | 3 | Safe |
| "Eleanor Rigby" | The Beatles | 9 | Safe | ||
| Top 5 | America's Twitter Song Choice | "Numb" | Linkin Park | 2 | Bottom 2 |
| "The Sound of Silence" | Simon & Garfunkel | 6 | Bottom 2 | ||
| Top 4 | Classic Rock | "God Only Knows" | Beach Boys | 4 | Safe |
| Sia | "Bird Set Free" | Sia | 8 | Safe | |
| Top 3 | Hometown Dedication | "Calling You" | Blue October | 1 | Eliminated |
| Scott Borchetta's Choice | "Dancing in the Dark" | Bruce Springsteen | 4 | Eliminated | |
| Judges' Choice | "Everybody Wants to Rule the World" | Tears for Fears | 7 | Eliminated | |
| Top 2 (Eliminated at Third Place) | Winner's single | "Strike a Match" | Dalton Rapattoni | A | Eliminated |
Post Idol[]
After his time on the show, Dalton did several interviews and released his first post-Idol single, "Strike a Match", which peaked at Number 38 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart. Dalton completed 3 tours after American Idol and now owns and operates 3 School of Rock locations in the Dallas area.
Discography[]
Singles:
- "Stop" (2014)
- "Strike a Match" (2016)
| Season 15 |
| Finalists |
| ·Trent Harmon ·La'Porsha Renae ·Dalton Rapattoni ·MacKenzie Bourg ·Sonika Vaid ·Tristan McIntosh ·Lee Jean ·Avalon Young ·Gianna Isabella ·Olivia Rox |
| Semifinalists |
| ·Jenn Blosil ·Jeneve Rose Mitchell ·Thomas Stringfellow ·Manny Torres ·James VIII ·Emily Brooke ·Amelia Eisenhauer ·C.J. Johnson ·Adam Lasher ·Stephany Negrete ·Jenna Renae ·Jordan Sasser ·Kory Wheeler ·Shelbie Z. |