Didi Benami
| Didi Benami | |
|---|---|
Benami in 2007 prior to American Idol.
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Vered Benami |
| Born | October 25, 1986 |
| Origin | Knoxville, Tennessee, US, Hollywood |
| Genres | Acoustic rock, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, musician, guitarist |
| Instruments | Vocals, guitar, piano |
| Years active | 2010–present |
| Labels | Independent |
| Website | officialdidibenami |
Vered "Didi" Benami (Hebrew: ורד "דידי" בן עמי; born October 25, 1986) is an American singer/songwriter from Knoxville, Tennessee, who was the tenth place finalist on the ninth season of American Idol. Since her appearance on American Idol, Didi Benami has spent the past few years honing her craft, taking classes and writing her first full-length album, Reverie.
Benami was born in New York before moving to Tennessee at the age of 7. Her father is Israeli and her first name, Vered (ורד) means 'rose' in Hebrew. She spent most of her formative years in Knoxville, Tennessee. Benami was raised Jewish.
Benami is a 2005 graduate of West High School. She started singing in the fifth grade. In school, she performed the role of Marty in the musical "Grease" and frequently performed the national anthem in front of various crowds.
On American Idol, Benami said she was a cheerleader and mascot at Bearden Middle School.
Benami attended Nashville's Belmont University before moving to California. This move followed the death of her close friend and roommate, Rebecca Joy Lear, in an automobile accident driving from Nashville to her Kansas home during the Christmas holiday of her first year. They wrote songs together, mostly on Lear's album, but Benami recently said that she would pursue Lear's music first and would most likely upload Benami version of Lear's songs.
Benami auditioned for American Idol in Los Angeles, California, where she has lived for four years. She has credited her friend, Rebecca Joy Lear, as one of the reasons she auditioned for American Idol.
At Benami's audition she sang The Beatles' song "Hey Jude." The judges all loved her performance, including guest judge Avril Lavigne. She became a front-runner in the competition following her well-praised performance of Katharine McPhee's song "Terrified" (co-written by Idol judge Kara DioGuardi) on the first solo of Hollywood Week, where Simon Cowell said "she was good." During the group week of Hollywood week Benami's group sang Alicia Keys' "No One." On the second solo performance of Hollywood week, she sang Sarah McLachlan's "Angel."
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