This blonde Texan is not new to the making music.  Kendall Beard has been making music since she was a young teener.  As a young musician, she travelled around Texas with her band performing in the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo among others places.  What is notable about her is that she had dyslexia as a student at the St. Cyprian’s Episcopal School.  Beard credits her school’s staff for helping her overcome her dyslexia.  When she went to college to get her degree in communication studies, she had to put her pursuit of a career in music for a while. 

After she graduated from the University of Texas, she attended one of the University’s internship programs in Los Angeles, Califonia.  While interning at the artist publicity department of Sony BMG, Kendall Beard rediscovered her love for making music and performing rather than dealing with the business side of music.  It was during that time when she started making her own music.  She was discovered by Jeffrey Weber, a Grammy award winning producer, and was contracted to record her very own self-titled album.  Playing with her band in Austin has not stopped Beard from dreaming about becoming the next American Idol.  She has always wanted to try out for the talent competition but she chose to wait things out until she finished college.  Now age 24, Beard has succeeded in landing a spot in American Idol Season 8’s Top 36 semi-finalists.

It was in Puerto Rico where Kendall Beard chose to audition for this season’s American Idol competition.  Oddly, this pretty young blonde Texan was the first to be put through to Hollywood in an audition held in Puerto Rico.  She earned the judges’ thumbs ups when she performed “From the Ashes” by Martina McBride.  She got her golden ticket to Hollywood where she went through the succeeding rounds where she sang “In the Arms of an Angel” by Sarah McLachlan and “Before He Cheats” by Carrie Underwood.  Her performance, although considered to be bad song choices by the judges, were good enough for her to be put through the succeeding episodes.  Beard has shared the limelight with the other contestants in the Top 36 who hoped to make enough of an impression on the viewers to make it to the Top 12 finalists.

Kendall Beard was part of the third group of semi-finalists set to perform their solos, after which the viewers can text in their votes to determine which three contestants will make it to the Top 12.  As with the other groups of semi-finalists, the top male performer, the top female performer, and the one with the next highest number of text votes.  Three others as determined by the judges will make it through to the Top 12 in the Wild Card round where the other contestants who did not get enough viewers’ text votes will be given a second chance.  It is proving to be an exciting yet scary time for Beard. Kendall Beard hoped that her love for music will shine through and be enough to make her succeed as the next American Idol.

If you adore nerds, witty personality and nice good boys, this American Idol aspirant may just be the pick for you. Alexander Thugman wins the heart of many American Idol viewers, not just because geeks are in, but because there is something very endearing about this 19-year college old student. There might just be a place for him in this season’s top runners.

From Studio City, California, Alex went to Phoenix, Arizona to get to the American Idol audition. Dropping responsibilities in school, even just for a day, is a big deal for someone as grade-conscious as Alex. “I missed a Spanish test for this. If I don’t do it, I’ll probably get a B.”, he narrated. It seems that Alex has musical dreams that he could fulfill outside university.

Upon entering the audition room for Idol, Simon makes a remark “You just came out of the closet.” An average male teenager would have not been able to respond to such words, but Alex comes back with to Simon with a witty remark saying that he used to practice singing in the closet. Alex Thugman is truly no average teenager.

Alex, seemingly timid and shy, sang “Baby come to me” by James Ingram. Although Paula mentioned that she found the audition surprising. Randy has attested that Alex’s voice has a weird tone, yet he congratulates the contestant for singing in pitch. Alex managed to impress all three judges except Simon who did not find anything extraordinary with his audition. Nonetheless, three yeses had gotten Alex through to Hollywood.

“It actually worked,” Randy Jackson defends as Alexander Thugman leaves the room with a golden ticket to Hollywood.

Hollywood week became tougher for Alex. The judges remained undecided until the last minute. To help the judges make the decision, Alex was called to render a song of his choice to convince the judges to choose him to stay. The catch is that he had to sing against one of the other contestants. The sing off was an emotional challenge for Alex since he had to sing against Cody Sheldon, who has come to be very close to him throughout the competition. Cody failed to impress the judges, thus making the judges lean towards Alex’s favor.

Alexander Thugman may not boast of the best voice in the competition, but his endearing personality helps him advance in the competition. At age 19, he is now part of American Idol Season 8’s top 36. From a regular responsible student, he is on the race towards becoming the next American Idol. He just needs a little more work for him to stand out in this competition. As we all know, wanting to get to the top may not be enough to take him there.

Simon did make a strong remark on Alex’s audition day, “You cannot do well in this competition”.

Nick Mitchell, also known by the name of “Norman Gentle” is one of the lucky 36 finalists who were chosen out of the millions who tried out to become the next American Idol. And the place where his future was decided is in East Rutherford at New Jersey. He was also known as “Norman Gentle” because on the day that he auditioned, he guised himself as someone by alternative name mentioned above. After he sang “And I Am Telling You I’m Not Going” of the Dreamgirls and “Amazing Grace”, it was amazing that the judges voted Nick Mitchell to go to Hollywood considering the way he fixed himself, red headband, huge glasses, and a glittering shirt. Everyone was given the impression that he was not really serious in pursuing a career in singing. This is probably the reason why all of the judges except Simon Cowell, agreed to send Nick Mitchell to Hollywood.

He is 27 years old and attended and finished his studies in Manhattan College and Western Connecticut State University but basically, he just grew up in Brookfield in Connecticut. Before he joined this competition, American Idol, he worked as a comedian who often performs in Connecticut and/or Manhattan.
Because of the impression that he gave people when he auditioned, many people feel that he is different from all the other contestants that were chosen. This is probably due to the way he carries himself and the way he acts towards other people. But even though he was perceived as such, he just keeps on fighting along with all the other contestants.

A friend and former classmate of Nick Mitchell, Bob Appleby, tried to make other people understand the personality of the childhood friend. He said that even then, Nick is really naturally friendly; someone who easily made friends with everyone. What he loves to do back then is sing a song and make the people around him laugh that’s why he got famous for playing pranks on other people just for fun. Bob said that all those years, Nick grew up developing that personality in school – elementary, junior high, and even high school. The funny thing about it, Bob said, is that until now he is still like that. Appleby even said that he is really glad that Nick is now given the chance to make the whole world happy as well like he used to.
This is not actually the first time that Nick has appeared on national television because he played the character in “The Wendy Williams Show” a year ago, after he sent his video tape dancing around his own living room while singing the theme song of the said talk show. The executive producer even said that when he saw the tape, he knew that Nick deserved a chance to shine.

So look out for Nick Mitchell because he may be the person who will change the views of people who are stereotyping those people who they feel is right in being given the title of American Idol.

Nate Marshall is an 18-year old guy who was included in the top 36 contestants of the eighth season of American Idol. He tried his luck in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Nate Marshall spent his childhood and eventually matured in New York. He started honing his singing talent when he was just 2 years old and even shared it with other people through the choir he belonged to when he was still in high school. Maybe because he was exposed to music early in his life, he eventually discovered his passion for it. That is why in his teen years, he explored and widened his horizons by playing some instruments like the guitar. As a matter of fact, he really got inspired with his music that he eventually found other people sharing the same passion as his and created their own music. One concrete example of this is the fact that 4 years ago (2005), he joined a group which eventually went with the name “Nate and Kate”; he toured and recorded one album with them.

Would you believe that at just the age of 18, one of Nate Marshall’s achievements is already releasing his first and full-length album where his original compositions and music are all contained; his album carried the name “Generation Why?” Though the truth is this is not a surprising thing for someone as talented and well-rounded person as Nate because he can play several instruments like piano, harmonica, cello, kazoo, tambourine, ukulele and even banjo. It was even reported that his music and tunes can be found and enjoyed in his MySpace profile online. Most of the time, he is compared to a famous musician, Bob Dylan.

The surprising thing is that even though he has achieved many things in his life already, many people still doubt his real capabilities and his right to be included in American Idol. Many are actually trying to figure out his real personality – whether he is annoying or entertaining. Maybe this is because of the fact that even though he has already achieved a lot of things in the music industry, many people still perceive him as someone with a really different personality. Most people actually try to classify him as ‘theatrical.’ Whether this means good or bad, we honestly do not know. What people should always remember is that a talented person like Nate Marshall should not let other people tear him down and influence the way he sees music in his life. The most important thing for him to do is just continue doing his thing and be true to himself, and hope that other people will eventually understand his personality. After all, it is not every single day that people find a musician and a person in general, that is as talented and exquisite as Nate Marshall.

Truly, American Idol will serve as a way for people to get to know this musician more and understand him better. After all, that is what this reality show is all about – directing people to the greatness they have within themselves.

Mishavonna Henson was born on July 25, 2000 and grew up in Texas but is now living in Irvine, California. She is a contestant in the American Idol’s latest season and was chosen to be included as one of the top 36 contestants. She first auditioned in Phoenix, Arizona. People might not be aware and might not remember that Mishavonna also auditioned during the last season of American Idol and even reached Hollywood but was not really able to show everyone her talent. This season, she is looking to overtake what she has achieved last season.

It is nice to know that Mishavonna Henson learned how to sing even before she was really able to talk and converse with other people. She first experienced singing in front of a large crowd in church. It is amazing to note that she is well rounded because aside from dancing, playing the piano and guitar, her list of hobbies also includes acting, and horseback riding. And even though she is regularly engaging herself in these hobbies, she is still able to maintain a good academic life as she is still taking several classes at one junior college. The truth is it would not be a surprise to know that most people are not aware that this young girl is also an actress and that she has appeared in a show in Nickelodeon named Unfabulous. Another one of the shows that she has appeared in is a sitcom in NBC entitled Frasier. Like mentioned above, she is a well-rounded person that she is able to involve herself in different fields and be able to juggle them all at the same time.

But out of all her hobbies, music stands out because for her, music is not just that. For her, music is one of the methods in which she expresses and communicates her feelings. As a matter of fact, even in her music she is proving that she is really well-rounded because she is living music in her life where country and modern tunes are combined. More than that, even her life is actually a mix of two opposite worlds for even if she is living her life under the limelight, she still brings with her and applies all the traditional values that she has acquired through the years.

Mishavonna Henson sang the song “Drops of Jupiter” of Train as her first song in the competition. The song actually is right for the range of her voice but throughout all the jumps of melodies in the song, her voice usually disappears. Although this was the case, it was generally a very strong performance and the problem does not really concern her voice or her manner of singing but on the way she handles the microphone.
Surely, Mishavonna Henson has a lot more to improve in her singing career but we also should not become skeptics. For all we know, this girl is just waiting for the right time to shine and let others know of her capabilities. After all, a girl with such talent and glow will eventually find her way in this industry.

If you are a musician of any sort then you need to realize the importance of getting insurance.  Of course, as with other types of insurance policies, there are different ones to choose from depending on your individual circumstances.  Even if you aren’t a professional musician, you should really look at getting insurance for your instruments because you might have spent a lot of money on them.

Studio Liability - If you own a recording studio or rehearsal space there are many things that might go wrong when there are musicians in.  For instance, equipment might fall over and even blow up.  If this were ever to happen to you it is important that you have liability insurance to cover any legal fees that you could face.  It simply isn’t worth ignoring this sort of insurance because anything could happen at any time and you could face financial ruin if you don’t have adequate cover.

So often people think that nothing will ever happen to them and that bad things only occur with other people.  This is simply daft and when you are dealing with members of the public lawsuits are something that you have to be prepared for.

If you are rehearsing or recording in your own home you might think that you’ll be covered under your regular homeowners insurance.  Unfortunately this isn’t automatically the case.  Of course, you can always contact your home insurance provider to find out if you can take out further cover.  However, often you will probably need to take out separate cover designed for this specific purpose.

The size of your studio/rehearsal room has a big impact on how much your policy will cost along with the value of your equipment.  The amount of money you make in fees each year is also taken into consideration.  Furthermore, find out if there are any deductibles.  Ideally you should find a policy where there aren’t any however you have to weigh this up with other factors. 

Tour Insurance - If you’re going on the road, then having insurance for when you are on tour is important.  These days venues often require that musicians have insurance.  If any of your equipment were to cause injury then you will find that having insurance can save you a considerable amount of money.  There are basic plans that you require however you might also feel the need to take out some extra coverage for things like musical instrument, crime and cancellation coverage.

Musical Instrument Coverage - Musical instruments can be very costly and unfortunately can be a real target for thieves.  Also, instruments can easily be broken in transit if they aren’t being treated as well as they should.  To illustrate this point you should watch the video on YouTube called “United Breaks Guitars” and you’ll realize how important insurance is.  However if your instruments have simply got a little scuffed through wear and tear then you are highly unlikely to be covered.  If you have classical instruments then you should look to get insurance that is specifically for this purpose.

Music Tutor Coverage - Again, when you are dealing with the public anything can go wrong.  Equipment can fall over and such like.  So if anything happens you can be sure that you have insurance to help you out with any legal or medical expenses.  A lot of people who are teaching a musical instrument at home don’t even consider the importance of insurance but please don’t be one of them.  It’s not worth the risk.

Spend time look at all your options and make sure you act quickly however you should also be thorough in terms of choosing the best policy for you.  You don’t want to end up finding out that you are underinsured.  An insurance agent can help you a lot with this.  If you are a member of a musicians union you should find out if they can offer you low rates of insurance.