(andPOP) - When Simon Cowell criticizes the song selection of the American Idol participants, he's not just filling airtime. Josh Gracin's choice one night during the second Idol season led to a record deal.
As the story goes, country-trio The Rascal Flatts were watching the country-themed episode of American Idol on
their tour bus. They said, 'Wouldn't it be cool if one of these kids on the show sings one of our songs?' Sure enough, out came Gracin singing their hit, "I'm Moving On." Jay DeMarcus, the group's bass player, called Marty Williams, who produced the group's albums, and told him about Gracin. That led to Gracin signing a record deal with Lyric Street Records in January. His self-titled debut album is scheduled for release on June 15.
That sounds like things happened rather easily, but Gracin was not a sure-bet for a post-Idol success story. Although he reached the final four during the second season of Idol
last year, Gracin had two characteristics rooting against him: he sang country music and was still in the Marines. While both of those features gained him instant recognition and a way to stand out from other Idol participants, both made it difficult for him to compete from week to week. The singing contest is heavily leaned in favour of pop singers, and although Gracin was able to transform some songs into his own country-style, his efforts were sometimes shaky.
It became hard for Gracin to justify singing on a TV show while seeing some of his comrades fighting in Iraq.
"My performances were getting progressively worse," Gracin admits, speaking to andPOP from his home near his base in southern California. "There were just a lot of things weighing on my mind."
The week he was voted off, he received a letter from a mother who said she had not agreed with, or supported, the military until she saw Gracin perform on Idol. "She realized that military members weren't just trained robots to kill, that they were sensitive, that they had a purpose and a drive and will to do other things. And that made me feel that maybe I did have a purpose doing what I was doing. I could shed a positive light on all of the military."
Gracin, who grew up outside Detroit, Michigan, says that competing on Idol boosted his confidence, "even if you know Simon's going to say something bad to you at the end." His confidence in knowing that he has what it takes to become a country star will be crucial in the coming months, as Gracin prepares to release his album while still on active duty until September.
The ability to juggle both jobs has not come easy. A typical day for Gracin begins at 5:30 in the morning. He arrives for work at 6:30. He works until 5 p.m., and in that time, tries to workout two or three times. When he returns home, he focuses on his music career and sees what there is for him to do.
"I'm very tired. I've been run down since this thing started but it's all worth it."
Quitting the Marines to concentrate on his music career has never been an option that Gracin has ever considered. While the rest of the Idol finalists toured all summer, Gracin was notably absent.
"When I joined the Marine Corps, I was like, 'I'm going to do this.' I always was the one that said I was going to do something but never followed through. I don?t want to bow out now. I want to have a sense of fulfillment, knowing that I finally did something and stuck to it and finished it."
Without the Marines, Gracin says, he would not be able to have his two careers and raise his family (Gracin and his wife, Anne Marie, have a young daughter, Briana).
"I'm a lot more responsible. I'm a lot more disciplined. I got my life together. There's so many things that I wouldn?t be able to do that I'm doing now."
Come September when is discharged after four years, Gracin does not plan on resting. He'll begin the next phase of his life. His hectic schedule, long hours, and lack of sleep will continue.
"I don?t think it's going to be different at all. They're already geared up, waiting for me to step off."
Gracin, along with Williams, had complete control over which songs made the album.
"We really tried to pick songs that everybody could like; maybe not just the normal demographic in country music but hopefully branching out."
While his album is "not going to the pop side by any means," he hopes that pop fans, such as those who watched him throughout American Idol, will enjoy his music.
"My big influence growing up was Garth Brooks. There's a lot of his style in there mixed with the new stuff like the Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney. It's a good blend."
The first single off the album, "I Want to Live," has already hit radio stations, and the music video was just released. Gracin describes the song as "an anthem about life, just wanting to go out and do your own thing, be who you want to be."
One of the songs closest to his heart is "The Other Little Soldier," which talks about the military from a child's point of view. "Being in the military for four years, I've seen a lot of parents say goodbye to their kids when they have to go somewhere. It's different than a lot of the other patriotic songs out there."
Without the military, Gracin may never have had the chance to release an album. The same can be said about being part of American Idol.
"There's a part me that realizes that's where people learned about Josh Gracin. Maybe that's a bright spot in somebody's day, seeing me on the show. That's always something that I'm going to carry with me and remember."
