American Idol contestant Jason Yeager has already been "almost famous," thank you very much. At least twice.
In 1999, the Grand Prairie-born singer earned a spot on the reality show Making the Band, but he ultimately did not make the band. A year later, thanks to being noticed on the show, he was asked to become a member of the guy group True This.
Again, it was another failed start.
"At about that time, all of the boy bands were starting to go downhill," Mr. Yeager said in a recent phone interview. "They were really talented guys, but it never quite got off the ground."
Next stop: tryouts for American Idol's second season. He'd lost a lot of weight, he had the right clothes, he was ready to shine – until he hit another roadblock.
"I stood in line in the freezing cold all night and I got really sick," he says. "I auditioned, but I didn't get past the preliminary round."
Fox
'My whole life, I've felt like the second-place guy - the one who's almost there,' says
Idol finalist Jason Yeager.
He says he wasn't sure what to do with his career at that point.
"It was pretty discouraging," he admits. "I'd just left the band, and I thought I'd at least get in the first couple of rounds."
Instead, in 2005 Mr. Yeager moved to Branson, Mo., where he got a job performing at local entertainment venues and taking restaurant jobs to help pay the bills. As for a certain TV show, it was out of sight, out of mind.
"I decided I didn't want to have anything to do with Idol for a couple of years," he says. "I'd put all my eggs in that basket, emotionally."
But last year, something changed. As he sat at home in Branson one day, bored, he decided he should give American Idol one more try. Now 28, it would be his last shot before the cutoff age.
A few Internet clicks revealed the show was holding tryouts in Dallas. Five minutes later, his friend sent him an instant message: "Did you know American Idol is having auditions in Dallas?"
"I thought, 'How weird,' " Mr. Yeager says. "I took that as a sign."
Trying out again could not only change his present situation, he figured, but also his fate: "My whole life, I've felt like the second-place guy – the one who's almost there."
As a top-20 finalist on the show, Mr. Yeager has made it further than at least 70,000 other hopefuls, some of whom would give an appendage to be in his position.
Last week, America finally got to know the singer, who revealed that he has a son, Nathan, from a previous relationship. Although his rendition of "Moon River" was definitely not the judges' favorite, his friends and family feel he could have surprises in store tonight.
"He's got talent that they haven't seen yet," says Patty Busby, who was one of Mr. Yeager's Sunday school teachers at Inglewood Baptist Church in Grand Prairie, where he often performed. "I'm hoping he picks a song that really showcases that – something that shows his bluesy, soulful side."
Not that she thought he bombed last week: "I know he took a chance with the song he did, but it was where his heart was," Ms. Busby says. "It was for his grandmother."
Paula Abdul had a bit of advice about that. In a phone interview last week, she said Mr. Yeager "is going to have to really look at the song choices and be less sentimental with his choices. He needs to think about what's going to really solidify him as an artist."
As he geared up for his first whirlwind week on Idol, Mr. Yeager said the excitement had cost him some sleep: "When I lay my head down at night, that's when I really start thinking, 'Oh my gosh, I'm going to be on the biggest television show of all time.' "
A week later, the guy who finally made the big time is simply grateful for the chance.
"Getting past the first round was amazing in and of itself," he says. "Now, here I am in LA, where I've never been, staying in one of the nicest hotels I've ever been in. Six months ago I was busing tables and cleaning toilets in Branson. It's been an awesome ride all the way." American Idol
Tuesdsay at 7 on Fox (Channel 4). 2 hrs.
