Diana DeGarmo Biography:
Diana Nicole DeGarmo was born on June 16, 1987 in Birmingham, Alabama. As a professional singer, Diana had an early start, having first sung publicly at the age of 5. She took some voice lessons when she was younger, but studied singing on a more regular basis in the years leading up to her appearance on season 3 of American Idol. When Diana was in third grade, she performed in the 1996 Summer Olympics as a Coca-Cola Kid. She was crowned Miss Teen Georgia and became a finalist on the NBC reality show America's Most Talented Kid in 2002. Her other interests include dancing and playing billiards.
Diana was on her third year in Shiloh High School when she decided to try out for season 3 of American Idol in Hawaii. Having wowed the judges with her audition, she was given the golden ticket, where she proceeded to give impressive performances. Diana was the youngest Finalist in her batch of Top 12. Among the songs she sang in the Finals are "My Heart Will Go On," "One Voice," "Turn the Beat Around," "Someone to Watch Over Me," "Get Happy," and "Because You Loved Me." Because she made it to the Top 2, alongside
Fantasia Barrino , Diana was given the opportunity to sing the exclusive American Idol song, "I Believe." Ultimately, the majority of the voters decided that Fantasia's overall performance in the Finals was better than Diana's, making Diana the runner-up for American Idol, season 3.
Since appearing on American Idol, Diana has continued to pursue her singing career both on and off the stage. In 2005, she worked in a production of West Side Story and a year later, appeared in her first Broadway play, in a production of Hairspray, at the Neil Simon Theater. She has also brought to life a lead character in a touring production of BKLYN: The Musical. Her first single, "Dreams," entered the Biilboard US Singles Sales Chart at #2 and her first album, Blue Skies, was made available to the public on December 7, 2004. The single, "Emotional," from her first album reached #54 on the Mediabase Pop Chart. She is currently working on her second album.