Didi Benami/Personal

Didi Benami
Contestant
Season	9
Audition city	Los Angeles, California
Placed	Tenth
Personal
Born	Vered Benami October 25, 1986

Vered "Didi" Benami (Hebrew: ורד "דידי" בן עמי‎; born October 25, 1986) is an American singer-songwriter and actress from Knoxville, Tennessee, who was the tenth place finalist on the ninth season of American Idol. She was born in New York before moving to Tennessee at the age of 7. Her father is Israeli and her first name, Vered (ורד) means 'rose' in Hebrew. She spent most of her formative years in Knoxville, Tennessee.

Personal Life

Born in New York, Benami moved to Tennessee when she was 7, spending her formative years in Knoxville. She started singing in the fifth grade and portrayed the character of Marty in a production of Grease. She also performed the National Anthem for various crowds. Benami attended Belmont University where she became friends with a felow student named Rebecca Joy Lear. They also became roommates and even wrote songs together. Lear's death in a car accident came before Benami decided to audition for Idol.

American Idol

After having lived in California for four years trying to pursue a music career, Benami tried out for season 9 of Idol in Los Angeles where she sang "Hey Jude" by the Beatles. Impressed by her sweet vocals, the judges, which included Canadian rocker Avril Lavigne as a guest judge, sent her through to Hollywood where she quickly became a frontrunner after singing "Terrified" by Katharine McPhee, co-written by judge Kara DioGuardi, on the first solo performance part of Hollywood week.

When she reached the top 24, Benami struggled but regained her momentum when she sang "Rhiannon" by Fleetwood Mac. Many fans feel that Benami's breakthrough performance is her take on the Rolling Stones' classic "Play with Fire", which she performaed as part of the top 12.

Benami was eliminated on March 31, 2010, finishing in 10th place.

Performances/Results

Week #	Theme	Song choice	Original artist	Order #	Result
Audition	Auditioner's Choice	"Hey Jude"	The Beatles	N/A	Advanced
Hollywood	First Solo	"Terrified"	Katharine McPhee	N/A	Advanced
Hollywood	Group Performance	"No One"	Alicia Keys	N/A	Advanced
Hollywood	Second Solo	"Angel"	Sarah McLachlan	N/A	Advanced
Top 24 (12 Women)	Billboard Hot 100 Hits	"The Way I Am"	Ingrid Michaelson	9	Safe
Top 20 (10 Women)		"Lean on Me"	Bill Withers	5	Safe
Top 16 (8 Women)		"Rhiannon"	Fleetwood Mac	5	Safe
Top 12	The Rolling Stones	"Play with Fire"	The Rolling Stones	2	Safe
Top 11	Billboard #1 Hits	"You're No Good"	Betty Everett	10	Safe
Top 10	Soul	"What Becomes of the Brokenhearted"	Jimmy Ruffin	4	Eliminated

After American Idol

Benami appeared on several talk shows after her elimination and was a part of that season's American Idols Live tour. After the tour ended, she put her focus on her music, releasing a single called "Gasoline" on May 23, 2012. Thanks to a PledgeMusic.com campaign, Benami was able to raise enough money so that she could record her debut album, Reverie, which was released on September 30, 2014. She's also taken an interest in acting and has been taking acting classes. She has even appeared in the music video for the Theory of a Deadman song "Hurricane". She also made a cameo appearence in Jax's music video for her song "La La Land".

Discography

Albums:

•  Reverie (2014)

Singles:

• "Gasoline" (2012)

• "Watching and Waiting" (2014)