Justin Guarini

Justin Bell
Guarini playing with fellow musicians at the Atlanta Hard Rock Cafe in 2012.
Background information
Birth name	Justin Eldrin Bell
Born	(1978-10-28) October 28, 1978 (age 38) Columbus, Georgia
Origin	Doylestown, Pennsylvania, United States
Genres	Jazz soul funk R&B pop
Occupation(s)	Singer-songwriter actor television host
Instruments	Piano guitar vocals
Years active	2002–present
Labels	RCA Justice Entertainment
Website	JustinGuarini.com

Justin Guarini (real name Justin Eldrin Bell; October 28, 1978) is an American singer/musician, actor, host and producer, who in 2002 was the runner-up on the first season of American Idol.

Bell was born in Columbus, Georgia. His father, Eldrin Bell, is African-American and is a former Atlanta, Georgia, Chief of Police, and former Chairperson of Clayton County Commission (Georgia). His mother, Kathy Pepino Guarini is Italian American, and was a journalist for WTVM TV in Columbus, and later for CNN. Bell was primarily raised by his mother and stepfather, physicist Jerry Guarini, in Philadelphia's suburb of Doylestown, Pennsylvania. He attended Central Bucks High School East.

Bell's musical experience started at age four when he was accepted by the Atlanta Boy Choir. After moving to Pennsylvania in 1985, he joined the Archdiocese of Philadelphia Boys Choir. Throughout his school years Guarini sang in school choirs, and from 1996-2000 was the lead soloist in an award-winning a cappella group named The Midnight Voices. The group released an independent album in 1999 with proceeds benefiting a music scholarship fund at Guarini's alma mater, Central Bucks High School East in Buckingham, Pennsylvania. He was a director/performer at the Riverside Haunted Woods in Bridgeton, Pennsylvania in 2001.