Constantine Maroulis

Besides catching him on stage at "Rock of Ages," you can see more of Constantine on "American Idol Rewind." This year, "American Idol Rewind" is showing Season 4's contestants like never before with previously unaired footage from auditions to backstage moments. Constantine, as well as his fellow finalists and Season 4's winner, Carrie Underwood, will be featured. Check local listings for times for "American Idol Rewind," rated as the #1 unscripted weekly syndicated hour.

Being the 6th finalist on season 4 of American Idol brought Constantine Maroulis into the national spotlight. Since then, he has been working on his music and acting, and spoke with TCC's Kimberly Helk about his music and his latest endeavor on Broadway.

KH: When did you know that music was what you wanted to do with your life?

CM: Wow, um, I guess since as long as I can remember. It's been a part of me, always around me, my mother sung in the house all the time, she sang at church. I remember hearing the Beatles when I was a kid and Nat King Cole. You know, it's just everything I wanted to do.

KH: So was your mom one of the bigger influences on your decision to do music?

CM: Yeah, definitely. My family is an amazing support system and they've always been great about that. Yeah, my mother was a good singer, just casually she sang at church. She always had a very nice tone to her voice, I distinctly remember that. And my brother was also a very good singer, and uh, very different than me of course, but yeah, they were a huge influence.

KH: What artists or groups influenced what genre of music you liked?

CM: I really grew up listening to everything, so pretty much everything influenced me, from jazz to rock and roll. Um, Frank Sinatra, Led Zepplin, the Doors, Hendrix, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Sam Cooke, Bob Marley, the Grateful Dead, Clapton, the Who, Beatles, all of that stuff was just so incredible to me. Growing up in the '80s, I had, you know, my Bon Jovi, U2, Guns N' Roses. Later had Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots, Jeff Buckley, you know, so all that stuff was huge for me.

KH: Now when you auditioned for American Idol, were you really nervous or were you so comfortable on stage already that it was really nothing for you?

CM: Those are two very extreme choices there but, um, you know I had been working, I was a professional performer, I had just come off tour with Rent, I had a band, I was a little older than the contestants, so I was a bit more comfortable. I think nerves always play a small part in what you do and they should. You know they should be, you should be nervous, if you're too comfortable you know, there's no room to grow, so. Yeah, I had never seen the show before, I didn't even know how it worked, I just kinda needed a gig so I auditioned. And um, here we are.

KH: What's your favorite memory from doing American Idol?

CM: Really there are so many, I mean it was such an amazing experience for me that I had a great time and I made friends, and on the crew, some of the contestants, people along the way. It was really wonderful, the whole experience, I wouldn't trade it for anything.

KH: What are you doing right now?

CM: I'm starring in a new show on Broadway. It's called Rock of Ages. It's an '80s rock and roll musical. It's a comedy and a love story and it's told through the songs of the 1980s. Jon Bon Jovi, Journey, Twisted Sister, Poison, etc. Um, it opened to rave reviews on Broadway, we're out our second, third week or so and we're sold out every night and it's been really a pleasure and quite a blessing. I'm the first "Idol" ever to create a role here on Broadway, I grew up as an actor, and I'm very, very happy to have this role and we're having so much fun in it. And the fans are just loving it, so, you know, it's a good thing.

KH: And who is your character, Drew Bowie?

CM: Who is my character on stage, his name is Drew and he's a barback from the Midwest. He's a bit of a dreamer, he moves out to L.A. in the mid 1980s, late 1980s or so, to be a rock star but he's got no confidence, he's got no "balls," if you will. He's a sweet kid with a lot of talent, but when he meets Sherry, his love interest in the show, she really inspires him and she brings it out of him, and, you know, on goes the love story.

KH: You used to be in a band, do you like being on Broadway more now or do you miss being in a band?

CM: No, I just like working, you know? I do lots of stuff, I'm a singer, I'm an actor. I went to a conservatory where I studied pretty much all phases of the performing arts. You know, I know people came to recognize me on a big television show, American Idol, as a singer and whatnot, but I like to do lots of things, so I try to bring the same sort of work ethic and energy to whatever it is I'm doing, playing in a band, singing with "Idols," you know, doing a musical, doing Shakespeare. I try to just approach it all the same way because I like doing a lot of stuff.

KH: You've been quoted as saying you "like honest music"; can you explain what you mean by that?

CM: Um, I guess I have been quoted as saying that. Um, I like music that really just comes from the heart, you know that's music, that it's art. That it's something that's coming from you that you have to make it because you just don't know what else to do, like it's just that urgent to you that you have to make it and comes from inside of you. And I think that's what really connects with people.

KH: What are some of your songs that you feel are "honest music"?

CM: Oh, anything by Jeff Buckley, anything by Sam Cooke, stuff like that.

KH: What's something about you that your fans may not know?

CM: Well, my TRUE fans, all 30 of them, um, they know pretty much everything about me, but, um, beyond that, you know, I'm a pretty normal kid. I was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Jersey, a big Greek family. You know, we're like everybody else, dysfunctional as hell, but lovable. I live in New York City, um, I put myself through school, I'm a straight man who loves musicals, and rock and roll, and, uh, I love the Yankees. I love sports, I like playing, you know, X-Box with my friends and online, and, uh, beating their ass in most games. And uh, I'm learning to cook.

KH: What's your favorite thing to cook so far?

CM: Well um, I've attempted a lasagna, and it came out pretty nice. That was the biggest thing I've really ever taken on. You know I can grill up some chicken and some pasta and make a nice salad and stuff like that, but to make an actual dish, it's complicated. Haha, so I'm working on it. So there you go, an exclusive for TheCelebrityCafe.