Mario Vasquez
| Mario Vazquez | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mario Adrian Vazquez |
| Born |
June 15, 1977 The Bronx, New York City, United States |
| Genres | R&B, pop |
| Occupation(s) | Musician |
| Years active | 2005-now |
| Labels | Arista Records (2006-2007) |
Mario Adrián Vázquez (born June 15, 1977) is an American singer from The Bronx, New York City. He competed on American Idol's fourth season, which aired on the FOX network in early 2005.
Raised by his single mother, Ada, in the Bronx, Vazquez is an alumnus of Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts. He was also involved in the CityKids Repertory Company in New York City, which enabled him to travel the country and perform in front of the President and at major charitable functions and shelters. In 2005, he was reunited with his estranged father, Mario Rivera, who discovered that his son was on American Idol while channel surfing.
After making it into the final round of twelve contestants on the hit reality show American Idol, Vazquez suddenly dropped out of the competition citing "personal family thing" a few days before the finals started. When the press contacted his mother regarding his decision, she was unaware why he had left the show.
There was much speculation about his decision; Vazquez appeared the next morning on "Good Day New York" on WNYW FOX5, and quashed rumors of a feud with "American Idol" producers or any of his competitors. "American Idol was only positive. They were only wonderful to me, from the beginning through the middle, to the end," he told the show. "It had nothing to do with the contract or anything signed with J Records." J Records is the same company that manages Idol winners Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino. Vazquez later said that he wanted more artistic control and creating his own sound. He felt that since he was now known worldwide as a semi-finalist, he could end the competition and go solo. He believed that his musical success would not make a difference whether he quit as a semi-finalist or participated in the finals round. Vazquez was replaced on the show by Nikko Smith, who had previously been voted out.
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