- Chikezie
-
Chikezie 
Chikezie at the American Idol, Season 7, Top 12 after party on March 6, 2008.Background information Birth name Chikezie Ndubuisi Eze Born September 11, 1985
Inglewood, California, United StatesGenres R&B, soul Occupations Singer Instruments Vocals, guitar, harmonica Years active 2007–present Chikezie Ndubuisi Eze (born September 11, 1985) is an American singer and the tenth place finalist on the seventh season of the television series American Idol.[1]
Contents
Early life
He was born in Inglewood, California to Nigerian immigrants Richard Eze and Chika Emerueh Eze. He has a younger brother, Obinna, and an older sister,Odochi. He began singing when he was 13 years old.[citation needed] He attended high school at the Los Angeles Center for Enriched Studies in West LA. Before auditioning for American Idol, he was a Transportation Security Administration screener and a cashier.[citation needed] He spent the 2004-2005 academic year at Bethel College, North Newton, Kansas. He also studied singing at Santa Monica College in Santa Monica, California.
American Idol
Season 6
He previously auditioned for the show's sixth season and made into the Hollywood Round, where he was cut before the top 40. He was good friends with Danny Noriega, who was also in the Hollywood Rounds for Season 6.
Season 7
Chikezie successfully auditioned again for Season 7 of American Idol and made the top 24 and then the top 12. He was eliminated from American Idol on March 26, 2008, coming in tenth place. He was in the bottom 3 with Jason Castro and Syesha Mercado, who both made the top 4. According to his AmericanIdol.com profile, his musical influences are Donny Hathaway, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, John Legend, Sam and Dave and others.[citation needed] While on American Idol he roomed with David Archuleta.
Performances
Week # Theme Song choice Original artist Order # Result Top 24 (12 Men) 1960s "More Today Than Yesterday" The Spiral Starecase 2 Safe Top 20 (10 Men) 1970s "I Believe to My Soul" Donny Hathaway 8 Safe Top 16 (8 Men) 1980s "All the Man That I Need" Linda Clifford 8 Safe Top 12 Lennon/McCartney "She's a Woman" The Beatles 2 Safe Top 11 The Beatles "I've Just Seen a Face" The Beatles 10 Safe Top 10 Year They Were Born "If Only for One Night" Luther Vandross 4 Eliminated Discography
Chikezie performing during the American Idols Live! Tour 2008.
Singles
These are just most downloaded songs and performances from iTunes:
- 2008:"She's a Woman"
- 2008:"I've Just Seen a Face"
- 2008:"I Believe to My Soul"
Tours
- 2008: American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008
- 2009: American Stars In Concert - Wings Stadium, Kalamazoo, MI March 26, 2009
Post Idol
After his elimination, Chikezie made appearances on Live with Regis and Kelly, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, and The Ellen DeGeneres Show.
Chikezie completed the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008 which covered over 50 cities from July 1 to September 13, 2008.
Chikezie is mentioned in the skit Metaphor by nerdcore rapper mc chris.
During an interview for LifeScript, Chikezie announced he recently went vegan to avoid future health problems.[2]
He hosted a special called American Idols: Where Are They Now? on TV Guide Channel succeeding Sanjaya Malakar
On March 19, 2009, Chikezie confirmed via interview that he is working on an album that will be released "sometime in the next 3 months". He also stated that he has had various offers from a few labels, but denied them, claiming that they wanted him to be a certain way. He stated that his album is going to be a "culmination of everything I've learned as far as musically and style-wise". He also stated that he has plans to tour for his album's release.[3]
During August 2009, Chikezie taped with the soap opera General Hospital playing a singer.
Personal life
Arrest
Chikezie was reportedly arrested February 25, 2010 at the Neiman Marcus in Beverly Hills and charged with felony identity theft.[4] He claimed this was the first time he used this card.
Marriage
Chikezie wed his longtime girlfriend Linda Iruke on July 10, 2011 in his hometown of Inglewood, California.[citation needed]
References
- ^ California Birth Index, 1905-1995, lists name as Chikezie Ndubuisi Eze, born 11 Sep 1985 in Los Angeles County, California, and mother's maiden name listed as Emerueh.
- ^ http://www.lifescript.com/channels/healthy_living/Life_Tips/idol_worship.asp?page=2
- ^ "Idol Tracker". The Los Angeles Times. March 19, 2009. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/americanidoltracker/2009/03/catching-up-w-3.html.
- ^ "Chikezie Eze arrested for identity theft". USA Today. February 26, 2010. http://content.usatoday.com/communities/idolchatter/post/2010/02/chikezie-eze-arrested-for-identity-theft/1.
External links
American Idol season 7 Finalists David Cook · David Archuleta · Syesha Mercado · Jason Castro · Brooke White · Carly Smithson · Kristy Lee Cook · Michael Johns · Ramiele Malubay · Chikezie · Amanda Overmyer · David HernandezOther Sources Categories:- 1985 births
- American people of Nigerian descent
- American people of Igbo descent
- Igbo singers
- American vegans
- Living people
- American television actors
- American male singers
- Musicians from California
- American Idol participants
- African American singers
- People from Inglewood, California
- Santa Monica College alumni
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
