There is no doubt that people believe in the marketing product of the American Idol phenomenon: kids with a dream delight America while trying to get a record deal and prime-time exposure. Constantine Maroulis did not win Idol, but that doesn’t discredit his ability to put on a strong self-titled debut, which is set for release on Tuesday, Aug. 7.
I had the delightful opportunity to catch up with the very busy and charming Constantine as he is heavily promoting his new release all over the country; he spoke to me very candidly about being blessed with his success from American Idol, his hard work ethic and his love for the album that he created.
Constantine is best known for being the rebel on American Idol, the rocker with the long hair with the big range before Chris Daughtry came onto the scene. His signature performance was covering “Bohemian Rhapsody”, and like Queen’s lead singer, Freddie Mercury, electrified the show with his strong stage presence and meeting the vocal challenge that Mercury laid down originally. Constantine took a chance by covering the song, and it paid off for him even though he did not win the competition. He would later be invited by Queen’s Brian May to contribute to the Killer Queen tribute album—not bad for a kid who was once doing odd jobs like mowing lawns to make ends meet and to pursue his dreams of having a musical career. Constantine is building a successful, steady career by staying busy, working hard and taking chances.
He speaks highly of his Idol experience, and says he maintains a friendly relationship with the show. Constantine would be open to working with this past season’s Idol winner, Jordin Sparks, and Kelly Clarkson, as well as another Idol favorite, Chris Daughtry, sometime in the future.
He has a very strong and diverse musical background, being exposed to different types of music from different members of his family, including his older brother, Athan. Constantine is a diverse performer himself, with prior experience working on Broadway, a sitcom in the works and most recently being apart of the CBS soap opera, The Bold and the Beautiful. His Broadway training helped prepare him for his career now and he is open to working on Broadway again in the future.
Constantine was very glad he got to record his album his own way, even two years after being on Idol, and it is a record of which is very proud. While staying busy with touring and acting, he got to meet and work with great talent like Marc Copely; he is looking forward to meeting fans on the road and touring with this record. He enjoys performing songs from his album live, including “Girl Like You” and “Everybody Loves” as well as a great closer to the album, “Midnight Radio”. He is currently in talks with possibly hooking up with major acts to tour with this year, so for his very loyal fan base and those who want first exposure to Constantine live, it looks like you’re going to get your chance.
He’s gotten good early buzz about the album from friends within the industry, and I expect the positive vibes to continue. He doesn’t expect to sell millions of records, and is very realistic about his expectations, but more importantly to him, his concern is getting this record out to the public, getting exposure on the radio and being able to create a tour. Constantine doesn’t fool himself; he’s a very down-to-earth, grounded and genuinely nice guy and he’s not expecting Constantine to be a groundbreaking John Lennon-type record. What this record means to him and what he believes fans can expect with the record is that it’s fun. Pick up this record this Tuesday, and you will hear a very versatile and talented artist who is goal-driven, takes his work seriously, and does things the right way by his own standards.
You can check out Constantine and his latest happenings on his official MySpace here and his official Web site at ConstantineMaroulis.com.
