Haley Scarnato

Haley Scarnato

Haley Scarnato (born Buly 15, 1982) is an American singer who was the 8th place finalist on the 6th season of American Idol.

Biography

Early years

Scarnato is of Italian descent and was born in San Antonio, Texas to Rose and Anthony Scarnato. She was a young gymnast between the ages of 5 and 15. Her body began to give out and after she dislocated both of her shoulders, Haley decided to move on to other things. Soon after, she found out that singing and music were her true passions and loves. She became a freelance singer, doing back up vocals, performing with the Josephine Theatre (a local theater troupe), and singing in the band The Oh So Good! Band, a live wedding band in Texas. Haley attended and graduated from William Howard Taft High School in San Antonio. She is a born again Christian, and prays before every performance.

File:HaleyScarnatoAudition.jpg

Scarnato's audition photo.

American Idol

Scarnato auditioned for American Idol in her hometown of San Antonio, Texas. She sang Bonnie Raitt's "I Can't Make You Love Me". Paula said that she had real nice control of her voice and said that it was lovely. Randy thought it was just okay and Simon agreed by saying "you look good, you sound, it's a bit cabaret". Both Simon and Randy didn't think she had much originality, but all three of them agreed that she did have a good voice and decided to let her through to Hollywood. While in Hollywood, she sang Celine Dion's "It's All Coming Back To Me Now" and Simon was very impressed with her. In the group round she sang with fellow semi-finalists Amy Krebs and two other female contestants. Simon thought it was good, but said that he wasn't going to remember any of them. Haley made through to the Top 40 then finally made it through to the Top 24. On March 8, 2007, Scarnato was voted through to the Top 12 over Sabrina Sloan, with whom she was roommates. She was eliminated from the show on April 11 after receiving the lowest amount of votes during Latin Music Night, making her the first contestant in the top 12 to be eliminated after having been in the bottom two or three in any previous week.

American Idol Performances

Week #

Song Choice

Original Artist

Bottom 3

Top 24

It's All Coming Back to Me Now

Celine Dion

NA

Top 20

Queen of the Night

Whitney Houston

N/A

Top 16

If My Heart Had Wings

Faith Hill

N/A

Top 12

Missing You

Diana Ross

No

Top 11

Tell Him

Billie Davis

No

Top 10

True Colors

Cyndi Lauper

Yes

Top 9

Ain't Misbehavin'

Ella Fitzgerald

Yes

Top 8

Turn the Beat Around

Gloria Estefan

Yes (eliminated)

Semi-Finals

• Week 1 - February 21 2007 - "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" by Celine Dion
  • She received fairly good comments. Randy said that he thought it was just okay, but thought it was a good song choice. Paula said that she did a nice job, but said she wished she had picked a different song because she already sang that in Hollywood. Simon thought it was old fashioned and that she sounded like she was forty, then adding it was like being at a reasonably good hotel and that was the last performance of the night.
• Week 2 - February 28 2007 - "Queen of the Night" by Whitney Houston
  • She received mixed reviews from the judges. Randy said that one thing he never liked about the song was that it had more background vocals than lead vocals and still didn't think it was that great. Paula said that it was better than the week before and thought it was more her to have fun on stage. Simon said that she got an "A" for effort because she gave it a go, but though she came out badly on the vocals then added that she was vulnerable to go home.
• Week 3 - March 7 2007 - "If My Heart Had Wings" by Faith Hill
  • She received mixed reviews from the judges. Randy said it was an interesting song choice and that she sang it well, but didn't have any pizazz to it then added it didn't have any "YO" to it. Paula said it was good and that she sang it well. Simon thought it was horrible and said "it was like some ghastly high school musical performance" and then said that he didn't even remember her name. At the end when Seacrest asked her how she felt, she talked about having to "clock in and clock out," and added that she "always got bad comments", to which Paula shook her head and said, "Haley you haven't always received bad comments." Haley responded with, "Well, not from everyone, but Simon does not like me." Haley managed to find herself a spot in the Top 12 over Sabrina Sloan.

Finals

• Week 1 - March 13 2007 - "Missing You" by Diana Ross
  • Her mentor Diana Ross told her that she had a recording voice as opposed to a stage voice. She received mixed reviews from the judges. Randy said that it was a value effort, but thought she sounded nervous and her pitch is usually better. Paula said that she looked "lovely" and said that it was a brand new day and that was the reason for forgetting her lyrics. At this point Haley was clearly overcome with emotion, and could but smile and nod. When Simon said, "I didn't think it was that bad," she broke down and wept on stage. Simon went on to say "I think you had real presence, I think you look like a star" he just thought that her nerves got the best of her halfway through the song, but thinks if she holds it together she may do better than he thought.
• Week 2 - March 20 2007 - "Tell Him" by Billie Davis
  • Lulu guided Haley that week, and told her she had to be grounded in whatever she chose. She received good comments from the judges. Randy said that it was a good song choice and that "Haley is back in the competition" then added it was her best performance to date. Paula said that she had a "real girlish quality" and thought that she looked good and also thought it was flirty. Simon called her "a naughty little thing" and said that it was young and fun, but a little "shrieky" then added that people were going to be talking about more than just her singing.
• Week 3 - March 27 2007 - "True Colors" by Cyndi Lauper
  • Haley's mentor that week was Gwen Stefani. Stefani advised Haley not to play around with the melody too much. In consequence Haley gave a subdued but poignant performance. She received mixed reviews from the judges. Randy said that is started off rough then got better towards the middle, but overall thought it was just alright. Paula said that she should have been a little more younger and thought it was too adult contemporary. Simon said "it was sweet, but forgettable" and then said that he thought it was "too safe".
• Week 4 - April 3 2007 - "Ain't Misbehavin'" by Ella Fitzgerald
  • Haley didn't receive any real criticism that night. Randy thought it would be a good week for her, then went straight to Paula, who said green was her color (she was wearing a bright green dress). Simon said, "That was rude. You should have commented on the performance," to which Paula coyly answered, "She wants to know what you think." Simon looked up at Haley and said, "I think you have great legs." He then quickly went on to say that he thought it was a good style of music for her. It wasn't until a prompt for real criticism from Ryan Seacrest that Simon described the performance as pageantry. The next night Haley found herself in the bottom two with Gina. Many viewers complained that it was because the judges had not been serious about her performance that she didn't get as many votes as she should have.
• Week 5 - April 10 2007 - "Turn the Beat Around" by Gloria Estefan
  • Randy called the performance really karaoke, saying he could hear the same performance in any bar. Paula said that it looked like she had fun on the stage. Simon, focusing on Haley's wardrobe, believed she had a strategy to wear as little clothing as possible and get votes, adding all she can do is have fun. On the results show on April 11, Haley was eliminated.

External links

• Haley Scarnato on AmericanIdol.com
• Haley Scarnato at IMDb