Fox’s megahit “American Idol” is popular for a reason: It allows average joes like us to morph from boredom to stardom, seemingly overnight. (At least, that was the show’s original intent.)
While the winner of each season is guaranteed a record deal, runners-up also receive attention. All top-10 contestants are invited on a summer concert tour, and many are offered opportunities in the entertainment industry. But once fame is achieved, maintaining it becomes more about developing staying power than honing the X factor.
Remember this face?
THEN
Before Idol: Indie artist with five albums [two solo, three as the front-man of rock group Half Past Forever] released in the Christian market.
Why He Tried Out: Two words: free ride. “A friend contacted me and said, ‘Hey, I’ll pay for you to go down and audition.‘ Who turns down a free trip to Birmingham?”
“YOU’RE GOING TO HOLLYWOOD!”
Season: 6
Rank: No. 10
Favorite Judge: Loves them all.
AUDITION CHATTER:
Randy: “Why you here, man?”
Chris: “I really want to make David Hasselhoff cry.”
Simon: I don’t get that. Why do you want to make David Hasselhoff cry?”
Chris: “Well, when Taylor [Hicks] won this past year they went to a scene of David and a little tear rolling down his cheek. It was classic. It kinda touched me.”
Paula: “You’re funny!”
MEMORABLE MOMENT:
“After I got voted off and the cameras stopped rolling, Simon came up and gave me a hug. He said, ‘You’ve lost your luster. Go get your luster back, because you’re a star. You’ve just got to show the world that you’re a star.’”
WHAT’S NEW:
Chris re-released HPF’s junior album, Take a Chance on Something Beautiful, with Brash Records in July 2007. This May, he also re-released his sophomore album, Running Back to You, through Brash. He wrote or co-wrote each song on both albums.
CHRIS ON:
The tight-knit top 10 of season six: “We are all friends and really love each other. Phil [Stacey] and I have become really good friends. Blake [Lewis] and I text message on a pretty regular basis. Chris [Richardson] hangs out whenever he’s in town.”
Wrestling with God over going mainstream: “After ‘American Idol,’ I had major mainstream labels interested in me. I got into serious talks with them, but the further I got down the road, the more I just felt like, ‘Man, God is really calling me to do Christian music.’ I really fought God on it for a while, but He kept changing my heart slowly.”
Getting voted off before Sanjaya: “I don’t think God is upstairs going, ‘Oh, man! I messed up! I let Sanjaya get farther than Chris!’ And that’s the way I look at it: God’s in control, and I’m still able to do what I love for a living. That’s all that matters.”
FAST FACTS
—His trademark sense of humor is inspired by the likes of Jack Black, Will Farrell, Kevin Spacey and Ben Stiller.
—The former Bob Jones University student was expelled for attending a Christian “rock” concert: 4Him and FFH.
—Chris is meeting with casting directors about possibly acting on the big screen and is working on a couple of screenplays. 
