Aaron Wayne Kelly (born April 2, 1993) is an American singer who finished fifth on the ninth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

''. Prior to ''Idol'', Kelly was a finalist on ''

America's Most Talented Kid ''America's Most Talented Kid'' was an American television series that premiered on NBC on March 28, 2003. In each round, three age groups (3-7, 8-12, 13-16) of talented children would perform songs, dance numbers, magic, and other forms of ente ...

'' at age 11.

Early life

Kelly was born in

Davenport, Florida Davenport is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 9,040 at the 2020 census. While the city of Davenport itself is very small, the area north of the city close to Interstate 4 and US 27 is experiencing explosive growth. ...

. Because of the difficult circumstances between his biological parents, Kelly was legally adopted at the age of 5 by his aunt and uncle, moving to

Nashville, Tennessee Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and ...

, and then

Sonestown, Pennsylvania Sonestown is a former unincorporated village in what is now Davidson Township, Sullivan County, in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. History and notable features In 1843, George Sones built a sawmill and founded Sonestown, an unincorporated villag ...

. He has sung professionally since the age of 9, performing at festivals and fairs and opening for such acts as

Charlie Daniels Charles Edward Daniels (October 28, 1936 – July 6, 2020) was an American singer, musician, and songwriter. His music fused rock, country, blues and jazz, pioneering Southern rock. He was best known for his number-one country hit "The De ...

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "You Ain't Woman Enough (To Take My Ma ...

Emerson Drive Emerson Drive is a Canadian country music band consisting of Brad Mates (lead vocals), Danick Dupelle (guitars, backing vocals), Mike Melancon (drums), and Dale Wallace (keyboards, backing vocals). The band was founded in 1995 as 12 Gauge, which ...

, Bill Anderson and

The Marshall Tucker Band The Marshall Tucker Band is an American rock band from Spartanburg, South Carolina. Noted for incorporating blues, country, and jazz into an eclectic sound, the Marshall Tucker Band helped establish the Southern rock genre in the early 1970s. W ...

. At 11, he was a finalist on PAX-TV's ''

''. Kelly once had a job selling soda on a beach near his home. Kelly lists his hobbies as soccer and photography and his musical influences as

Keith Urban Keith Lionel Urban (born 26 October 1967) is an Australian-American musician, singer, guitarist and songwriter known for his work in country music. Recognized with four Grammy Awards, Urban also received fifteen Academy of Country Music Award ...

Rascal Flatts Rascal Flatts is an American country music band founded in 1999. The band members were Gary LeVox (lead vocals), Jay DeMarcus (bass guitar, background vocals), and Joe Don Rooney (lead guitar, background vocals). DeMarcus is LeVox's second cou ...

, Carrie Underwood and

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...

''American Idol''

Kelly was a participant in

The American Idol Experience The American Idol Experience was a theme park attraction at Disney's Hollywood Studios at the Walt Disney World Resort. Inspired by the popular American television series ''American Idol'', the attraction invited park guests to audition in fro ...

Disney's Hollywood Studios Disney's Hollywood Studios is a theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Bay Lake, Florida, near Orlando. It is owned and operated by The Walt Disney Company through its Parks, Experiences and Products division. Based on a concept by M ...

at The

Walt Disney World Resort The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, ...

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures re ...

. At the end of the day he was the highest vote recipient in the finale show, which entitled him to receive the dream ticket, which got him to the front of the line for the real ''American Idol'' auditions in Orlando in June 2009. Kelly is the third contestant from Pennsylvania, and was the youngest contestant to make it through to the Top 12 on ''American Idol'' until

Thia Megia Thialorei Lising Megia (born January 30, 1995) is a Filipino-American singer and television actress. She is known for being a contestant on the tenth season of ''American Idol'' and for starring as Haley Chen on '' Days of Our Lives''. Early ...

made the top 12 at 15. On May 5, 2010, Kelly was eliminated from ''American Idol'' after landing in the bottom two with

Michael Lynche Michael Alexander Lynche (born May 31, 1983) is an American R&B singer and songwriter who was the fourth place finalist on the ninth season of ''American Idol'' and the second finalist on the series ever to receive the judges' save, which had ...

. Kelly finished fifth place in the competition. On the season finale of ''American Idol'' on May 26, 2010, Kelly sang " How Deep Is Your Love" with Siobhan Magnus, who were then both joined by the Bee Gees. Although he was close to everybody, he was especially good friends with

Katie Stevens Katherine Mari Stevens (born December 8, 1992) is an American actress and singer, known for finishing in eighth place on the ninth season of ''American Idol'' and starring as Karma Ashcroft in '' Faking It'' and Jane Sloan in ''The Bold Type' ...

, Siobhan Magnus, Alex Lambert, Tim Urban,

Andrew Garcia Andrew Adrian Garcia (born October 18, 1985) is an American singer from Moreno Valley, California who was the ninth place finalist on the ninth season of ''American Idol''. Garcia has released two EPs and numerous standalone singles. He has a ...

, and Lee DeWyze. He was also the youngest ever to reach the top 5.

Performances

Post-''Idol''

After being eliminated, Kelly appeared on ''

The Ellen DeGeneres Show ''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was pro ...

''. On May 10, 2010 he performed on '' Late Show with David Letterman'', ''

Access Hollywood ''Access Hollywood'', formerly known as ''Access'' from 2017 to 2019, is an American weekday television entertainment news program that premiered on September 9, 1996. It covers events and celebrities in the entertainment industry. It was create ...

'', and May 11, 2010 on ''

The Wendy Williams Show ''The Wendy Williams Show'' (often shortened to ''Wendy'') is an American syndicated talk show created and hosted by Wendy Williams, and produced by Wendy Williams Productions, along with Perler Productions. The show is distributed by Debmar- ...

''. Kelly says he plans to record a

country A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while ...

album and started the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2010 on July 1, 2010. Kelly sang "

Somebody Like You "Somebody Like You" is a song co-written and recorded by Australian country music singer Keith Urban. It was released in July 2002 as the first single from his third studio album, '' Golden Road'' (2002). The song became Urban's second number-on ...

", "

Walking in Memphis "Walking in Memphis" is a song composed and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year that the ...

" and "

Fast Cars and Freedom "Fast Cars and Freedom" is a song recorded by American country music group Rascal Flatts. It was released in March 2005 as the third single from the album '' Feels Like Today''. It was the group's fourth Number One single on the U.S. '' Billboar ...

." He also sang in group performances of " The Climb" and " It's My Life". On November 18, 2010, Kelly announced that his first single would be titled "I Can't Wait for Christmas" and was released on November 20, 2010. He is currently working on his debut album in Nashville. On November 19, 2010, it was revealed that Kelly is now signed to

Creative Artists Agency Creative Artists Agency LLC (CAA) is an American talent and sports agency based in Los Angeles, California. It is regarded as an influential company in the talent agency business and manages numerous clients. In March 2016, CAA had 1,800 emplo ...

which also manages acts such as Carrie Underwood,

Faith Hill Audrey Faith McGraw (; born September 21, 1967), known professionally as Faith Hill, is an American singer and actress. She is one of the most successful country music artists of all time, having sold more than 40 million albums worldwide. Hill' ...

and many other big artists. In March 2012, he released his first single "Coincidence"for an album which was never released and he formed a country group called Upstate and they are working on their first album and touring.

Discography

Singles

Notes

* Kelly was saved first from elimination. * Due to the judges using their one save to save

, the Top 9 remained intact for another week.

References

External links

Aaron Kelly
on ''

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

''
Official Aaron Kelly Website

Aaron Kelly
at ''

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Kelly, Aaron 1993 births 21st-century American singers Living people American child singers American country singer-songwriters American adoptees American male singer-songwriters American Idol participants Child pop musicians Singer-songwriters from Florida Singer-songwriters from Pennsylvania People from Davenport, Florida Country musicians from Pennsylvania Country musicians from Florida 21st-century American male singers