James Conrad Verraros (b. February 8, 1983) is an American singer/entertainer and native of Crystal Lake, Illinois who is most notable for being one of the top 10 finalists in the first season of American Idol. Because he was raised by deaf parents, he is fluent in American Sign Language. Verraros is of Greek (father) and German, Irish, French and English (mother) descent.
Verraros quickly became a celebrity in the American gay press because of a controversy that erupted when Fox Broadcasting Company made him remove gay-related comments from his network-sponsored American Idol web site in the summer of 2002. While Verraros was openly gay with fellow contestants and Idol employees, he did not mention his homosexuality on air. Following the end of the show and the subsequent tour, Verraros came out publicly in an article in The Advocate.
Verraros released an indie CD Unsaid and Understood (2003) through the original MP3.com. It won the 2004 Outmusic Award for Outstanding New Recording - Debut Male.
Verraros' mainstream debut album Rollercoaster (2005) has garnered a couple of dance floor hits, including the Top 25 Billboard Hot Club/Dance Chart hit "You Turn It On." "I Want You" and "You're Getting Crazy" have both charted in the Top 30 on the Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart. The album was produced and co-written by Los Angeles-based singer/songwriter Gabe Lopez and features four songs co-written by American Idol finalist Angela Peel. The album had a limited release deal through Koch Records.
As an actor, Verarros is a star of the 2004 gay-themed comedy Eating Out directed by Q. Allan Brocka, produced by Ariztical Entertainment and its 2006 sequel, Eating Out 2: Sloppy Seconds.
Verraros has two MySpace pages housing unreleased songs as well as some tracks from his debut album, Rollercoaster.
Verraros is an avid fan of the Chicago Cubs, Chicago Bears, Chicago Blackhawks, and Chicago Bulls.
Verraros has appeared four times on The Feast of Fools podcast - once in November and December of 2006 and twice in January 2007.
Verraros was considered for a role on the Here! series Dante's Cove.
