Diana Nicole DeGarmo, named after the late Princess Diana of Wales, was born on June 16, 1987, in Birmingham, Alabama. By the tender age of five years old, Diana was already used to the spotlight. Throughout her childhood, she made numerous appearances in singing competitions and pageants in and around the state of Georgia, even making it as far as performing at Nashville, Tennessee's legendary Grand Ole Opry, not surprising anyone by becoming widely admired and adored.

At an older age, Diana traveled to Scandinavia to try and pursue a career in music, but unfortunately nothing happened professionally and Diana's incredible talent was still unknown. It was after gaining recognition on the television show "America's Most Talented Kids" that Diana tried out for the incredibly popular, "American Idol," which first gained success in the UK known as "Pop Idol." American Idol had previously brought forth such talents as Kelly Clarkson, Tamyra Gray, Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken. American Idol is a show where thousands of talented people compete against one another to win the title "American Idol," in which they also win a record contract and tons of media attention. It's much like Star Search, but with a very interesting twist. Contestants are voted off week by week, chosen not by the judges but by America. America uses their telephones to call in at the end of each show and vote for who they thought had the best performance for that night. The contestant with the least amount of votes for that night is kicked off.

Becoming one of the youngest contestants to make it to "Hollywood," the word every hopeful competitor wants to hear, Diana was praised by the show's infamous judges, Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul. She then advanced into the Top 32, which was chosen only by the judges, then Diana's fate was in America's hands. She was the first contestant chosen to be in the official and final Top 12. It was from there that Diana gained her American Idol success, placing second behind Fantasia Barrino among 70,000 hopefuls for the American Idol title.

After the show's season finale aired, Diana, Fantasia, and eight other finalists for the third season, Jasmine Trias, La Toya London, George Huff, John Stevens, Jennifer Hudson, Jon Peter Lewis, Camile Velasco, Amy Adams, traveled across America, also making a stop in Singapore, on the American Idols Live tour. This was their chance to perform for the fans who spent week after week with the contestants enduring just as much fear, excitement, and sadness that they did.
Mini Biography
Shooting to fame on the popular television show "American Idol" in 2004, Diana DeGarmo has thus far enjoyed a fruitful career; releasing an album, touring across the country and the world, and even acting on Broadway, all at the tender age of 18.

Auditioning on American Idol at age 16, DeGarmo went through weeks of auditions before making it to the top 32, where she then sang before a national TV audience. Voted into the top 12 by the American public, DeGarmo impressed with performances like "Think", "One Voice", "No More Tears", "This is It", "Because You Loved Me" and the fan favorite "Don't Cry Out Loud" and after making it to the bottom 3 three times, consistently became a fan favorite, making it all the way to the finals. Losing out to Fantasia Barrino by 1-2% of the vote on May 26, 2004, DeGarmo went on tour with the rest of the top 10. She released her single "Dreams" at the same time, which became the third best selling single of the year. That summer, DeGarmo also recorded her debut album with RCA Records. Released December 7, 2004, "Blue Skies" showcased DeGarmo's amazing range and vocal prowess. The album did not echo well with the public, however, selling under 200, 000 copies. Many attributed this to the paltry promotion given by the label. While promoting the album, DeGarmo worked towards her high school diploma (then just 17) and graduated in 2005 with a 3.8 GPA and as a member of the National Honor Society and The Beta Club, impressive for a teenager juggling a singing career at the same time. In 2005, DeGarmo split with label RCA Records per her request and went on to pursue other opportunities in the entertainment industry, as well as recording a second album.

Wanting to have creative control over the project, DeGarmo began recording a Pop/R&B album independently, choosing her own producers and writing on tracks. The album is anticipated to be released in 2007. DeGarmo also made her theatrical debut as Maria in the San Jose production of "West Side Story" in November 2005. DeGarmo impressed as Maria with both her singing and natural acting ability.

While looking into the movie version of "Hairspray" in 2005, DeGarmo was asked to audition for the Broadway production of "Hairspray". Not expecting to actually be cast, DeGarmo returned to Atlanta after the audition, only to find out that she had indeed been offered the role as Penny Lou Pingleton in the Broadway production of "Hairspray". At the same time, DeGarmo also auditioned for the national tour of Brooklyn: The Musical.

At the end of 2005, DeGarmo also went on a USO tour to entertain the troops in 13 countries overseas, including Afghanistan and Iraq. It was a life-changing experience for DeGarmo.

February 7, 2006 marked a new chapter in DeGarmo's career: Broadway. Debuting in the role of sidekick Penny Pingleton in "Hairspray", DeGarmo impressed doubters and fans alike, positioning herself as truly a force to be reckoned with. She also toured with Brooklyn: The Musical in the summer of 2006 with Tony Award winners Melba Moore and Cleavant Derricks. DeGarmo was asked to return to Hairspray in September and obliged. She will remain there until February 11, 2007. 2007, again, looks to be a great year for DeGarmo.

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