George Huff
George Clayton Huff. Jr. was born on November 4, 1980 in New Orleans, Louisiana. George has been singing since he was five years old and was a student of the University of Oklahoma School of Music for six semesters. He was working at a local restaurant (where he was flipping pancakes) before he decided to audition for season 3 of American Idol. His purpose for joining the reality show was not only to become a successful singer, but also to realize his dream of building homeless shelters and to experience a greater deal of wealth. George also knows how to play the piano, sing opera, write music and act.
With his big smile, warm personality and enormous talent, it did not come as a surprise when George received a golden ticket when he auditioned for the third season American Idol. He sailed on through Hollywood week became one of the Top 32 semifinalists. His rendition of Heatwave's "Always and Forever" did not get him enough votes to move forward. As a wild card contestant, George bounced back with an energetic performance of Billy Wither's "Lean On Me," compelling Simon to place him in the Top 12 for the Finals. George was able to make it all the way to the Top 5, singing hits like "Ain't Too Proud to Beg," "Take Me to the Pilot," and "Against All Odds." He spent his last three weeks on the show on the Bottom 3 and after Big Band Week, became the eighth finalist to be eliminated.
Unfortunately for George, the popularity he gained from the show failed to grow when he was eliminated. In 2005, he released his first album, entitled Miracles, under Word Records, but was only able to sell around 18,000 copies of it. As if things weren't bad enough, George was one of the thousands who lost their homes when Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana in 2005. He was forced to relocate to his brother's home in Dallas.