Haley Suzanne Scarnato (born June 15, 1982) is an American singer who was the 8th-place finalist on the sixth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

''.

Early years

Scarnato was born in

San Antonio, Texas San Antonio ( ; Spanish for "Anthony of Padua, Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the List of Texas metropolitan areas, third-largest metropolitan area in Texa ...

to Rose and Anthony Scarnato. She was a young gymnast between the ages of 5 and 15. She attended Jack C. Jordan Middle School. After dislocating both of her shoulders, Scarnato moved on to other interests. Soon after, she found out that singing and music were her true passions and loves. She became a freelance singer, performing back up vocals with the Josephine Theatre (a local theater troupe), and singing in the band The Oh So Good! Band, a live wedding band in Texas. Haley graduated from William Howard Taft High School in San Antonio.

''American Idol''

Scarnato auditioned for ''

'' in her hometown of

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. She sang

Bonnie Raitt Bonnie Lynn Raitt (; born November 8, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter. In 1971, Raitt released her Bonnie Raitt (album), self-titled debut album. Following this, she released a series of critically acclaimed Americana (mu ...

's "

I Can't Make You Love Me "I Can't Make You Love Me" is a song written by Mike Reid and Allen Shamblin and recorded by American singer Bonnie Raitt for her eleventh studio album, '' Luck of the Draw'' (1991). Released as the album's second single in 1991, "I Can't Ma ...

Paula Abdul Paula Julie Abdul (born June 19, 1962) is an American singer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and television personality. She began her career as a cheerleader for the Los Angeles Lakers at the age of 18 and later became the head choreographe ...

said that she had real nice control of her voice and said that it was lovely. Randy thought it was just okay and Simon agreed by saying "you look good, you sound, it's a bit cabaret". Both Simon and Randy did not think she had much originality, but all three of them agreed that she did have a good voice and decided to let her through to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. While in Hollywood, she sang

Celine Dion Céline Marie Claudette Dion (born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Power Ballads", Dion's powerful, technically skilled vocals and commercially successful works have had ...

's "

It's All Coming Back to Me Now "It's All Coming Back to Me Now" is a power ballad written by Jim Steinman. According to Steinman, the song was inspired by ''Wuthering Heights'', and was an attempt to write "the most passionate, romantic song" he could ever create. ''The Sunday ...

" and Simon was very impressed with her vocals. In the group round she sang with fellow semi-finalists Amy Krebs and two other female contestants. Simon thought it was good, but said that he wasn't going to remember any of them. Scarnato made through to the top 40 then finally made it through to the top 24. On March 8, 2007, Scarnato was voted through to the top 12 over Sabrina Sloan, with whom she was roommates. Scarnato tended to get mixed reviews and was seemingly always in the bottom 3. She was eliminated from the show on April 11 after receiving the fewest votes during Latin Music Night, making her the first contestant in the top 8 to be eliminated after having been in the bottom two or three in any previous week.

''American Idol'' performances

* When

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest is the host of '' Wheel of Fortune'', having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and ser ...

announced the results in the particular night, Scarnato was among in the bottom three, but declared safe second when

Chris Sligh Charles Christopher Sligh (; born April 13, 1978) is an American singer, songwriter, producer and pastor who was a finalist on the sixth season of '' American Idol'', finishing in tenth place. He has released 14 albums since 2001 as a solo artist, ...

was eliminated. * When Ryan Seacrest announced the results in the particular night, Scarnato was among in the bottom three, but declared safe second when Gina Glocksen was eliminated.

Post-''American Idol''

On May 12, 2007, Scarnato sang the

national anthem A national anthem is a patriotic musical composition symbolizing and evoking eulogies of the history and traditions of a country or nation. The majority of national anthems are marches or hymns in style. American, Central Asian, and European ...

for Game 3 of the Western Conference basketball semifinals between the

San Antonio Spurs The San Antonio Spurs are an American professional basketball team based in San Antonio. The Spurs compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southwest Division (NBA), Southwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA ...

and

Phoenix Suns The Phoenix Suns are an American professional basketball team based in Phoenix, Arizona. The Suns compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Pacific Division (NBA), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NBA), We ...

. On April 20, 2009, she sang the

for Game 2 of the NBA Western Conference First Round between the San Antonio Spurs and the Dallas Mavericks. On the May 25, 2007 edition of ''

Larry King Live ''Larry King Live'' is an American television talk show broadcast by CNN from June 3, 1985 to December 16, 2010. Hosted by Larry King, it was the network's most watched and longest-running program, with over one million viewers nightly. Ma ...

'', it was stated that Scarnato and her fiancé would wed on January 5, 2008. On October 16, 2007 in an interview with MySanAntonio.com, Scarnato stated that she and her fiancé had broken up while she was on tour. During an interview on " The Late, Late Show with Craig Ferguson," broadcast on January 18, 2012, guest David Duchovny told a story about Haley Scarnato—specifically naming her—in which his then-young son was watching an "American Idol" episode. After seeing her performance, the child said, "She has a really good voice." Duchovny claimed that this indicated to him that his son was a heterosexual—based on the fact that Scarnato looked good but had a mediocre voice. Haley's now-unavailable EP of studio version songs that she performed on American Idol was released on iTunes, along with all the other Top 12 contestants. In 2008, Scarnato released her first single "Girls Night Out" which did not chart on any chart. In 2012, Scarnato released her new country single "How I Feel" written by

Dan Hill Daniel Grafton Hill IV (born 3 June 1954) is a Canadian pop singer and songwriter. He had two major international hits with his songs " Sometimes When We Touch" and " Can't We Try", a duet with Vonda Shepard, as well as a number of other chart ...

and

Keith Stegall Robert Keith Stegall (born November 1, 1955) is an American country music recording artist and record producer. Active since 1980, Stegall has recorded two major-label studio albums: 1985's ''Keith Stegall'' and 1996's ''Passages'', although he ...

. Scarnato announced in an interview in November 2009 that her album ''Strongheart'' was scrapped after she left her management, but that she was working on a new album and "Strongheart" was her old management's idea.

Discography

Singles

References

External links

*
Haley Scarnato Interview on Fox News Radio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Scarnato, Haley 21st-century American singer-songwriters 1982 births American women country singers American country singer-songwriters American Idol participants Living people Singers from San Antonio Singer-songwriters from Texas American people of Italian descent 21st-century American women singers Country musicians from Texas