Brooke Elizabeth White
(born June 2, 1983) is an American singer-songwriter and the fifth place finalist of the seventh season of American Idol.
White's first post-Idol
album, High Hopes & Heartbreak
, was released on July 21 on iTunes. [1] [2] The first single, "Hold Up My Heart," debuted at number forty-seven on the Billboard Hot 100. [3]
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BROOKE WHITE TICKETS
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Early life
Brooke Elizabeth White was born in
Phoenix, Arizona, and raised in nearby
Mesa with three younger siblings and her parents, Brad and Kaylene, and is of
English descent. She also has family members in
Nova Scotia, Canada.
[4]
Personal life
White started singing at 15 when she tried out for the high school musical,
Meet Me in St. Louis,
and earned the lead role.
White graduated high school from Heritage Academy in 2001. She at one time attended beauty school, describing herself as a "beauty school dropout,"
and shared on
Idol
that she started doing hair when she was eleven years old. She spent four years in Los Angeles, CA working with producer/manager Tim Simms honing her craft as an aspiring
singer-songwriter prior to auditioning for
American Idol
and also spent a year as a nanny for twin baby girls. During her elimination video on
American Idol, White stated "It's probably not a secret that I struggled with my own confidence, but I'm stronger than I thought I was and that's a great thing to get out of this."
White currently resides in
Van Nuys, California with her husband.
[5] White is a member of
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
American Idol
Overview
After being encouraged by former manager Tim Simms, White auditioned for
American Idol
in
Philadelphia, where she sang "
Like a Star" and received a positive review from all the judges. During her audition, she admitted to never having seen an
R-rated movie, prompting Cowell to state that he could "bring her over to the dark side." During the Hollywood week, White performed "Beautiful" by
Carole King, accompanying herself on piano. After that performance, judges were quick to point out that Brooke reminded them of a young
Carly Simon or Carole King.
Since top 24, White has accompanied herself on guitar for her performances of "
You're So Vain", "
Jolene", and "
I'm a Believer", and on piano for "
Let It Be", "
Every Breath You Take", "
Hero", and "
I Am...I Said". Judge
Simon Cowell chose White early as one of his four favorites in the competition when he appeared on
The Oprah Winfrey Show
on March 17, 2008.
[6]
During the 1970s week, while White was performing "
You're So Vain" by
Carly Simon, she stared at Simon Cowell. It caught the judges' attention and received good reviews from them. White performed an
acoustic version of "
Love Is a Battlefield" by
Pat Benatar in the next week to good reviews as well. During the Lennon/McCartney week, she performed "
Let It Be", a classic song by
The Beatles.
Randy Jackson said it was a very heartfelt performance and Simon Cowell said it was one of the best of the night, believable, and he thought Brooke picked good song choices in the past three weeks.
Andrew Lloyd Webber was impressed the most by White and predicted a big night for her,
[7] but three lines into her performance of "You Must Love Me", White apologized, stopped the band, and re-started the song from the beginning. She later explained, "I lost the lyric." Simon Cowell stated that he would have done the same thing, had he been in her situation. It was the first time in the show's history that a contestant re-started a performance after a song had started (She previously started "
Every Breath You Take" on an odd note, so she started over right at the beginning). Despite this, she was the third contestant on the April 23, 2008 results show to be named safe while
Carly Smithson went home.
When White performed "
I'm a Believer" and "
I Am...I Said" during
Neil Diamond week, she changed the lyrics, as suggested by Neil Diamond, in the latter song from "I'm New York City born and raised" to "I'm Arizona born and raised" to make the song her own.
White was in the bottom three twice, once on April 2 after her
Dolly Parton song "
Jolene" and again on April 16 after her
Mariah Carey performance of "
Hero". After her performance of
Neil Diamond's "
I'm a Believer" and "
I Am...I Said", she was then eliminated from
American Idol
on April 30, 2008.
Performances and results (during voting weeks)
| Week #
| Theme
| Song choice
| Original artist
| Order #
| Result
|
| Audition
| -
| "Like a Star"
| Corinne Bailey Rae
| N/A
| Advanced
|
| Hollywood
| -
| "Beautiful"
| Carole King
| N/A
| Advanced
|
| Hollywood
| -
| "God Only Knows"
| The Beach Boys
| N/A / Not shown
| Advanced
|
| Top 24 (12 Women)
| 1960s
| "Happy Together"
| The Turtles
| 6
| Safe
|
| Top 20 (10 Women)
| 1970s
| "You're So Vain"
| Carly Simon
| 3
| Safe
|
| Top 16 (8 Women)
| 1980s
| "Love Is a Battlefield"
| Pat Benatar
| 7
| Safe
|
| Top 12
| Lennon/McCartney
| "Let It Be"
| The Beatles
| 7
| Safe
|
| Top 11
| The Beatles
| "Here Comes the Sun"
| The Beatles
| 5
| Safe
|
| Top 10
| Year They Were Born
| "Every Breath You Take"
| The Police
| 5
| Safe
|
| Top 9
| Dolly Parton
| "Jolene"
| Dolly Parton
| 1
| Bottom 31
|
| Top 8
| Inspirational Music
| "You've Got a Friend"
| Carole King
| 8
| Safe
|
| Top 7
| Mariah Carey
| "Hero"
| Mariah Carey
| 4
| Bottom 22
|
| Top 6
| Andrew Lloyd Webber
| "You Must Love Me"
| Madonna
| 3
| Safe
|
| Top 5
| Neil Diamond
| "I'm a Believer"
"I Am...I Said"
| The Monkees
Neil Diamond
| 3
8
| Eliminated
|
- Note 1: White was saved first from elimination.
- Note 2: When Ryan Seacrest announced the results for this particular night, White was among the Bottom 3 but declared safe second, as the remaining contestant was eliminated.
Post Idol
In an interview with
Entertainment Weekly
, White stated she will continue focusing on recording and that she received a call from Carly Simon. When asked about returning as a nanny of the twins, White said that the family joked that they would give her a raise if she went back, and she said that she didn't mind babysitting every once in a while.
[8]
After her elimination, White made appearances on
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno
on May 1, 2008,
[9] Live with Regis and Kelly
and
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
on May 5, 2008,
[10] [11] The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet
on May 6, 2008,
[12] Good Day L.A.
and
Access Hollywood
.
[13] She also filmed an appearance on
MTV's
Total Request Live
on May 6, 2008.
[14]
While on
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
,
Ellen DeGeneres cut White's husband David's hair, since he had vowed not to cut it until Brooke was eliminated from
Idol
.
She performed "You're So Vain" on
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
,
Live with Regis and Kelly
,
The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet
and
Access Hollywood
.
White shot a video for the
VH1 TV show
Best Week Ever
, called "". In the video, White mocks herself and starts and stops while singing some classic songs.
White returned to the
Idol
stage for the season finale, and performed along with the other Top 12 contestants. She also sang "
Teach Your Children" with
Graham Nash.
White filmed a commercial with fellow finalists,
Syesha Mercado and
Carly Smithson, she has become the spokeswoman for “Save The World Summer”, a campaign launched by
Malaria No More and
Idol Gives Back.
In one interview, White stated that she would not sign a record deal until after the tour was over.
[16]
White completed the
American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008
, which ran from July 1, 2008 to September 13, 2008. She performed "Let It Be" by the Beatles, "
1234" by
Feist, and "" by
Coldplay (which is also included on White's debut album ).
White was on the Fall 2008 cover of
Eliza magazine. The cover was accompanied by an eight page fashion story and article.
On September 27, 2008 (proclaimed by the mayor of Mesa to be "Brooke White Day"), Brooke White visited her hometown of Mesa, AZ, and signed autographs at Milano Music Center and performing at the Mesa Amphitheater. The performance was free to the public; however, donations to Malaria No More were accepted. The event was sponsored by the Mesa Convention Center, Milano Music Center, and Malaria No More.
White also appeared at
NAMM and did an impromptu performance of "You're So Vain" at the Gibson booth. She launched BrookeWhiteMusic.net as her official website, but later announced on her twitter that the new official site was RealBrookeWhite.com
She sang "Dancing a Catchy Rhythm" with
Jennifer Hudson for the Walt Disney World
Paris parade.
She and fellow Idol alumnus Michael Johns have joint concert appearances scheduled for September 17 in Pomona, CA, September 18 in Sacramento, CA, September 19 in Reno, NV, September 21 in Portland, OR, September 23 in Spokane, WA, September 24 in Seattle, WA, September 25 in Boise, ID, September 26 in Salt Lake City, UT, September 27 in Denver, CO, September 29 in Lawrence, KS and September 30 in Des Moines, IA. She will also appear solo at a concert in Washington, DC on October 10.
Pre-Idol
career
2005 - 2007: Songs from the Attic
White's debut album,
Songs from the Attic
was released by the independent record label New Millennium Records Group in 2006,
[17] and was produced and co-written by Tim Simms.
[18] Songs from the Attic
is a full length 11 song album which contains some of White's first songs she ever wrote and recorded. The album also contains cover versions of Aerosmith's "Dream On and Coldplay's "Yellow".
White's first music video was from a song off
Songs from the Attic
entitled , "Free", which was directed by
Braden Barty [19] and produced by Tim Simms. In the video, she acts out her story as a beauty school dropout who moves to
Hollywood to pursue a singing career.
Songs from the Attic
was re-released after White was eliminated from American Idol.
Post-Idol
career
White stated in an interview that she would not sign a record deal until the tour finished.
White also collaborated with
Michael Johns for a song called,
Life is Okay
. White performed the song with Johns.
[20]
High Hopes & Heartbreak
On January 31, White she said she signed with Sanctuary Artist Group instead of earlier reported
Sanctuary Records.
[21] She also announced the title of her new album,
High Hopes & Heartbreak.
[22]
On February 25, 2009, White released her first single "
Hold Up My Heart", written entirely by White herself. The song featured a piano riff that repeated throughout with a mid-tempo beat. Hold Up My Heart peaked at 47 on the
Billboard Hot 100. White returned to American Idol to perform her debut single on the February 26 results show, playing the keyboard to accompany the song.
White announced May 2009 that she started her own record label "June Baby Records" and her first post-Idol album,
High Hopes & Heartbreak,
will be available July 21, 2009. The second single off the album "
Radio Radio
" was available on
iTunes on June 23. The album was originally supposed to be dropped on July 2, 2009, also White' birthday, but was postponed to release a little more than a month later, as said in White's blog entry for the 15th of May.
[23]
White held a live webcast at 5PM
PST on the 9th of July 2009 and announced that she had teamed up with
iTunes and her album
High Hopes & Heartbreak was to be exclusively digitally released from the
iTunes Store on the July 14, as well as the music video of her second single
Radio Radio
to be available for downloads free on the same date.
[24] During the webcast, she performed 3 songs on her album, including her single "
Radio Radio
", her cover of
Use Somebody
originally by the
Kings of Leon and the title track off her album, "
High Hopes & Heartbreak
", all performed with her on the keyboard.
A 'backstage pass' was also released in connection with
The Republic Project, which allows purchasers to receive and view behind-the-scenes videos of the making of
High Hopes & Heartbreak
.
[25] 10 lucky purchasers of the backstage pass were chosen to attend the live webcast in
Los Angelos, which streamed live on July 9 on
Facebook and
uStream.
Musical influences
White cites her musical influences as the "soulful sounds of the 70s" such as the
Carpenters,
Carole King,
Fleetwood Mac,
James Taylor,
Elton John,
Stevie Wonder, the
Eagles,
America,
Carly Simon, the
Bee Gees,
Hall & Oates,
Joni Mitchell,
Bonnie Raitt, and
Phil Collins.
When asked on
American Idol
with whom she would like to do a duet, she named
John Mayer as her choice for a modern artist. She also says if she could choose a partner for a "dream duet", she would choose
Carole King, whom she cites as one of her main influences. She also cites
Kelly Clarkson and
Carrie Underwood as her favorite former American Idol winners.
[26]
Carly Simon, one of the singers who inspired White, said publicly her favorite contestant on
Idol
was Brooke. She was impressed with White's performance of "
You're So Vain", and said that she thought, "Oh my God, this girl is so talented and she sings the song so much better than I ever did or ever could."
[27]
Discography
Studio albums
| Year
| Album details
| Peak positions
|
| US
| US Indie
|
| 2005
| Songs from the Attic
- Released: October 18, 2005
- Label: New Millennium
| —
| —
|
| 2009
| High Hopes & Heartbreak
- Released: July 21, 2009
- Label: June Baby
| 50
| 7
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|
Singles
| Year
| Single
| Chart positions
| Album
|
| US
| US AC
|
| 2009
| "Hold Up My Heart"
| 47
| —
| High Hopes & Heartbreak
|
| "Radio Radio"
| —
| 31
|
| "—" denotes releases that did not chart
|
Other charted songs
| Year
| Single
| Chart positions
| Album
|
| US
|
| 2009
| "Use Somebody"
| 122
| High Hopes & Heartbreak
|
Featured singles
- "Life Is Okay" (Michael Johns featuring Brooke White)
Other releases
iTunes Exclusive "American Idol Live Performances"
# "
Happy Together"
# "
You're So Vain"
# "
Love is a Battlefield"
iTunes Exclusive "American Idol Studio Performances"
1
# "
Let It Be" - 3:30
# "
Here Comes the Sun" - 2:51
# "
Every Breath You Take" - 3:54
# "
Jolene" - 2:39
# "
You've Got a Friend" - 5:08
# "
Hero" - 3:54
# "
You Must Love Me" - 2:40
# "
I Am...I Said" - 3:31
References
- http://blogs.usatoday.com/idolchatter/
- http://miamiherald.typepad.com/idol_watch/2008/05/brooke-white-al.html
- http://news-briefs.ew.com/2009/05/american-idol-f.html
- 'Idol' finalist White a beauty school dropout
- 'American Idol' eliminates Brooke White, determines Top 4 finalists
- Video clip of Simon Cowell with Oprah
- American Idol Tracker: Andrew Lloyd Webber {{sic|forsees}} big night for Brooke White
- 'American Idol' Exit Q&A: Brooke White
- Video of Brooke White on ''The Tonight Show with Jay Leno''[1]
- Video of Brooke White Live with ''Regis and Kelly'' [1]
- Idols on Ellen -- Brooke White Exits Gracefully ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show''. 2008-05-05. Retrieved 2008-05-05.
- Video of Brooke White on ''The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet''[1]
- Brooke White performs on the ''Access Hollywood stage'' Booted 'Idol' Brooke White Performs On The Access Stage
- American Idol - Yahoo! News Photos [1]
- Brooke White: Surviving Idol
- Valley Idol looks forward to performing for fun, not votes
- Title Unavailable
- ‘American Idol’: Brooke White’s debut album returns to the Internet (May 1, 2008).
- Several Brooke White videos from WireWerks
- NARM 2009 Performance Highlights
- Brooke White Clears the Air: Album ''High Hopes & Heartbreak To Be Released June 2
- I'm back...For the Record...
- http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.ListAll&friendId=8985501
- [1]
- http://www.republicproject.com/Home/ArtistPreview/Brooke%20White
- Brooke White Top 24 Season 7 American Idol page
- "Carly Simon is a fan of ‘Idol’s’ Brooke White" Associated Press article on msnbc.com, April 29, 2008.