Posted: September 21, 2006
College Newspaper: Spectator

The 2003 season of “American Idol” brought us several idols other than winner Ruben Studdard. They introduced us to teen idol Clay Aiken, singer and current model Kimberly Locke. Also, Idol introduced a U.S. Marine from Michigan who America fell in love with in the midst of war in Iraq.

Josh Gracin is that off-duty Marine, but he’ll be on duty at Wild Adventures Saturday.

The 26-year-old singer has had the most successful career of any of the contestants on the show who were neither selected as winners nor runners-up (as Clay Aiken was). Gracin, who came in fourth that season, grew up in Westland, Mich., about 30 minutes from Detroit, listening to pop and rock until his local Top 40 station changed its format to country. Then he heard Garth Brooks and found his calling as a country singer.

After a few tries at getting a record contract in Nashville, Gracin joined the U.S. Marines and married his high school sweetheart. He was stationed at Camp Pendleton in California when he decided to try out for the second season of American Idol after seeing Kelly Clarkson’s success.

Gracin received some bad press, along with the Marine Corps, who allowed him to be on the show while so many units were being sent to Iraq. He also received flak for singing country while the other performers sang pop or R&B.

Rascal Flatts member Jay DeMarcus heard Gracin’s American Idol performance of Flatts’ song “I’m Movin’ On” and called Flatts’ record label, Lyric Street Records to put them in touch with their producer. In return, Gracin received a record deal after his l].

Soon after the season ended with Studdard as the winner, Gracin went back to Camp Pendleton to finish his duties to the Marines. He missed the summer American Idol tour with his other cast mates due to his duties, but signed a record deal with Lyric Street Records.

He traveled to Nashville during weekends and holidays to record his debut album, Josh Gracin, which was released in June 2004, while he was still on active duty in the Marines. Gracin was released from the Marines in September 2004 and immediately went to work promoting his debut album.

The album generated three top five hits on the country charts, including the number-one song, “Nothin’ To Lose.” He also recorded songs for such movies as “Herbie: Fully Loaded” and several other projects. Gracin’s latest single, “Favorite State of Mind,” a fast-paced, up-tempo number, is still climbing the charts. His sophomore album, “All About Ya’ll,” was to be released in June.

The concert starts at 6:30 p.m. Saturday and is free with price of admission. Reserved seats are on sale at Wild Adventures and on its website, www.wildadventures.net. Other upcoming concerts and events include Dierks Bentley and Miranda Lambert on Nov. 4 and Ne-Yo on Nov. 11.