Jena Irene Asciutto (born July 13, 1996), also known as Jena Irene, is an American singer from Farmington Hills, Michigan. She was the runner-up of the 13th 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 ...

''. Asciutto became the first female Wild Card contestant of the series to qualify into the finale and became the second Wild Card contestant, after

Clay Aiken Clayton Holmes Aiken (''né'' Grissom; born November 30, 1978) is an American singer, television personality, actor, politician, and activist. Aiken finished second place on the second season of ''American Idol'' in 2003, and his debut album, ' ...

in the second season, to make it into the finale. In April 2015, she signed a long-term recording deal with the independent Detroit label Original 1265 Recordings. Asciutto released her debut EP, '' Innocence'', on April 22, 2016, which was followed by her debut album, ''Cold Fame''.

Early life

Jena Irene Asciutto was born in Farmington Hills, Michigan, on July 13, 1996, to George Asciutto and Julie (née Loiselle). She graduated from North Farmington High School on June 8, 2014. She participated in North Farmington's annual "Coffee House" talent show, and from ages 12–16 was a member of a band called Infinity Hour, before it disbanded in February 2013, prior to her American Idol audition.

Career

2014-present: ''American Idol'', ''Innocence'', and ''Cold Fame''

While on ''American Idol'', she performed under the shortened name of Jena Irene. For her ''American Idol'' audition, Asciutto sang "

Rolling in the Deep "Rolling in the Deep" is a song recorded by English singer-songwriter Adele for her second studio album, '' 21'' (2011). It is the lead single and opening track on the album. The song was written by Adele and Paul Epworth. The singer herself de ...

" by

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (, ; born 5 May 1988), professionally known by the mononym Adele, is an English singer and songwriter. After graduating in arts from the BRIT School in 2006, Adele signed a rec ...

. During the audition process, production continually called her "Jena Irene," possibly due to a mistake she made when writing down her name, as "Irene" is not her surname, but rather her

middle name In various cultures, a middle name is a portion of a personal name that is written between the person's first given name and their surname. A middle name is often abbreviated and is then called middle initial or just initial. A person may be ...

. Although she initially made attempts to correct her name, she eventually decided to keep the name professionally. During the group round, she sang "Too Close" by Alex Clare, alongside Sikenya Thomson, Allie Odom, and Mufarid Zaidi. She made it into the third part of Hollywood week by singing an original song called "Unbreakable Me," which has since been released on iTunes. Asciutto performed the song again during her hometown visit after making it to the top 3. She was announced as the runner-up on May 21, 2014.

Performances on American Idol

Asciutto took part in the American Idols Live! Tour 2014 from June 24 through August 24, 2014. She began work on her debut album immediately after the show as well. In April 2015, Asciutto signed a record deal with Detroit-based label Original 1265 Records. In October 2015, the music video for "Unbreakable" was released. The single would later be on both debut EP, ''Innocence,'' which was released on April 22, 2016, and her album, ''Cold Fame,'' was released in late 2016. The music video for the second single, "Innocence", was released on April 20, 2016. On April 22, 2016, "You Gotta Help Me", was featured in the Billboard.com Editors' Picks.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

;Releases from "American Idol" *"

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Bring Me to Life "Bring Me to Life" is the debut single by American rock band Evanescence from their debut studio album, ''Fallen'' (2003). Wind-up released it as the album's lead single on April 7, 2003. The song was written by Amy Lee when she was 19, after ...

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" *" I Love Rock 'n' Roll" *" Creep" *"

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" *" My Body" *" Heartbreaker"

Music videos

References

External links

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'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Asciutto, Jena Irene American Idol participants Living people 1996 births American pop rock singers Alternative rock singers 21st-century American singers Singer-songwriters from Michigan American women singer-songwriters People from Oakland County, Michigan 21st-century American women singers North Farmington High School alumni