People go to meet their favorite celebrities because they want to connect with them on a personal level. You see these people on stage or on screen and you just want to make sure they are real. I remember two years ago watching this Todrick Hall video called "Disney Dudez". It combined two of my favorite things, Todrick Hall and Disney. This particular video starred a new boy band called IM5. The one that caught my eye in particular was Prince Charming played by Dalton Rapattoni. I kept my eye on the group but quickly grew out of the boy band phase. Little did I know so did Dalton. He was now in an indie rock band called Fly Away Hero and they were awesome. (Seriously go check out their EP)
All of a sudden, I am sitting on my couch waiting for an episode of the final season of "American Idol" and who walks into the audition room but the blonde boy who wears eyeliner better than anyone I've ever seen. He sang "Phantom of The Opera" in a really cool new way. That was when I knew that he was going to make it far on his own. He breezed through all the rounds and made it to the final three. He ended up in third place but, without fail, throughout the entire competition he changed the song he was singing that week to some degree.
His strongest attribute was connecting to the fans and the lyrics he was singing. He really told the story of the song each time he sang, and that's what made people love him week after week. He became so vulnerable and open to his fans that he even revealed that he suffers from bipolar disorder. This opened him up and made him really connect with the fans.
When I watch people on these reality television shows, I really wonder how genuine they are, or if it is just a script. I can tell you that Dalton is 100% genuine. I had the pleasure to meet him and he was just so comforting and nice and took his time while meeting me, granted he had to leave to go to his next stop in New York.
This is why when people meet their favorite celebrities they get so excited that they cry. For me, I imagine what these people would be like in real life and many times, they exceed my greatest expectations. It makes me realize that they are just like me. They are humans who just so happen to have the "it" factor to make it big time.
Go ahead and check out Dalton Rapattoni on iTunes, Twitter and Facebook at @DaltonRapattoni.
