Brooke Elizabeth White(born June 2, 1983) is an American indie pop/folk-pop singer-songwriter and actress who finished in fifth place on season 7 of American Idol. She released her first album, Songs From the Attic, in 2005, and her first post-Idol album, High Hopes and Heartbreak, was released in 2009. She is also one half of the duo Jack and White.
Early Life[]
Brooke Elizabeth White was born in Phoenix, Arizona, and raised in nearby Mesa, with three younger siblings (Katie, Tyler, and Quinn) and her parents, Brad and Kaylene, and is of English descent. She also has family members in Nova Scotia, Canada.
Personal Life[]
White started singing at 16, when she tried out for the high school musical, Meet Me in St. Louis, and earned the lead role. White graduated high school from Heritage Academy, in 2001. She, at one time, attended beauty school, and described herself as a "beauty school dropout," and shared on Idol that she started doing hair when she was eleven years old. White moved to Los Angeles, California when she was nineteen year old where she attended the Musicians Institute for three months and then spent the next four years honing her craft as a singer-songwriter recording in the studio and performing in the clubs of Hollywood, California under the guidance of Tim Simms. White also spent a year as a nanny for twin baby girls. During her elimination video on American Idol, White stated "It's probably not a secret that I struggled with my own confidence but I'm stronger than I thought I was and that's a great thing to get out of this." White currently resides in Van Nuys, California, with her husband Dave Ray. The couple have two children, daughter London (born May 24, 2012) and son Sonny (born September 4, 2016). . White is also a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
American Idol[]
White auditioned for American Idol, in Philadelphia, where she sang "Like a Star" and received positive
Brooke with David Cook and David Archuleta
reviews from all of the judges. During her audition, she admitted to never having seen an R-rated movie, which prompted Cowell to state that he could "bring her over to the dark side." During Hollywood week, White performed "Beautiful", by Carole King, and accompanied herself on piano. After that performance, judges commented that White reminded them of a young Carly Simon or Carole King.
In the live rounds of the competition, White accompanied herself on guitar for her performances of "You're So Vain", "Jolene", and "I'm a Believer" and on piano for "Let It Be", "Every Breath You Take", "Hero" and "I Am...I Said". Judge Simon Cowell chose White early as one of his four favorites in the competition when he appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show on March 17, 2008.
During the 1970s theme week, while White performed "You're So Vain", by Carly Simon, she stared at Simon Cowell. It caught the judges' attention and received good reviews from them. White performed an acoustic version of "Love Is a Battlefield" by Pat Benatar, in the next week to good reviews, as well. During the Lennon/McCartney week, she performed "Let It Be", a classic song by The Beatles. Randy Jackson said it was a very heartfelt performance and Simon Cowell said that it was believable and one of the best of the night and that he thought that Brooke had picked good song choices in the past three weeks.
Andrew Lloyd Webber, who served as guest mentor for a show, based on his own music, was particularly impressed by White and predicted a big night for her. However, three lines into her performance of "You Must Love Me", White apologized, stopped the band and re-started the song from the beginning. She later explained, "I lost the lyric." Simon Cowell stated that he would have done the same thing, had he been in her situation while Paula Abdul disagreed with him, criticizing White for starting the song over. It was the first time in the show's history that a contestant restarted a performance from a point so far into the song. (White had previously restarted "Every Breath You Take", after a single odd note.) Despite this, she was the third contestant to be named safe on the subsequent results show, while Carly Smithson went home.
When White performed "I'm a Believer" and "I Am...I Said", during Neil Diamond week, she personalized the latter, at Diamond's own suggestion, by changing the lyrics from "I'm New York City born and raised" to "I'm Arizona born and raised."
White was in the bottom three three times, once on April 2 after performing Dolly Parton's song "Jolene", again on April 16 after performing Mariah Carey's "Hero", and when she was eliminated on April 30, 2008 after performing "I'm a Believer" and "I Am...I Said".
Performances in American Idol[]
| Round | Song Choice | Original Artist | Theme (if any) | Result |
|---|
Post-Idol career[]
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, White stated that she will continue to focus on recording and that she received a call from Carly Simon. When asked about returning as a nanny of the twins, White said that the family joked that they would give her a raise, if she went back, and she said that she did not mind babysitting every once in a while. After White's elimination, she made appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno on May 1, 2008, Live with Regis and Kelly and The Ellen DeGeneres Show on May 5, 2008, The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet on May 6, 2008, Good Day L.A. and Access Hollywood. She also filmed an appearance on MTV's Total Request Live on May 6, 2008. While on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Ellen DeGeneres cut White's husband David's hair, since he had vowed not to cut it until Brooke was eliminated from Idol. She performed "You're So Vain" on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Live with Regis and Kelly, The Morning Show with Mike & Juliet and Access Hollywood. White shot a video for the VH1 TV show Best Week Ever, called "Brooke White Starts And Stops The Classics". In the video, White mocks herself and starts and stops while singing some classic songs. White returned to the Idol stage for the season finale and performed, along with the other Top 12 contestants. She also sang "Teach Your Children", with Graham Nash. White filmed a commercial with fellow finalists, Syesha Mercado and Carly Smithson, she has become the spokeswoman for “Save The World Summer”, a campaign launched by Malaria No More and Idol Gives Back. White stated in an interview that she would not sign a record deal until the tour finished. "There are definitely certain things that I have to abide with in my American Idol contract. I won't sign anything, until three months after the show is over. That doesn't mean that I'm not looking ahead and preparing for the future. The point of doing the show was not just to be on TV but to launch into a real career." White completed the American Idols LIVE! Tour 2008, which ran from July 1, 2008, to September 13, 2008. She performed "Let It Be" by the Beatles, "1234" by Feist and "Yellow" by Coldplay (which is also included on White's debut album Songs From the Attic). White was on the Fall 2008 cover of Eliza magazine. The cover was accompanied by an eight page fashion story and article. On September 27, 2008 (proclaimed by the mayor of Mesa to be "Brooke White Day"), Brooke White visited her hometown of Mesa, AZ, and signed autographs at Milano Music Center and performed at the Mesa Amphitheater. The performance was free to the public; however, donations to Malaria No More were accepted. The event was sponsored by the Mesa Convention Center, Milano Music Center, and Malaria No More. White also appeared at NAMM and did an impromptu performance of "You're So Vain" at the Gibson booth. She launched BrookeWhiteMusic.net as her official website, but later announced on her Twitter that the new official site was RealBrookeWhite.com She sang "Dancing a Catchy Rhythm" with Jennifer Hudson for the Walt Disney World Paris parade.
In addition to working on her own music, White also took time to collaborate with her friend Michael Johns for a song called Life is Okay, which is off the soundtrack of the Shaun White documentry Don't Look Down. White performed the song with Johns. She and Johns performed joint concerts, in September, 2009. She also appeared solo at a concert in Washington, DC, on October 10, 2009. On November 10, 2009, an exclusive holiday EP by White was released on iTunes and contained the songs "Away in a Manger", "Blue Christmas" and "California Christmas".
High Hopes and Heartbreak (2009-2011)[]
White's first post-Idol album, High Hopes and Heartbreak, was released on July 21, 2009 on her own record label, June Baby Records. The album, produced by former Idol judge Randy Jackson, featured two singles, "Hold Up My Heart" and "Radio Radio".
First Christmas album (2012-present)[]
In addition to her work with Jack and White and being a mother, Brooke took some time out to make her first Christmas album, White Christmas, which she released on November 6, 2012.
Jack and White (2011-present)[]
Jack and White
In 2011 White teamed up with singer-songwriter Jack Matranga to form a duo called Jack and White. The duo released their debut EP, Gemini, on August 22, 2011. One of the songs on the EP, "Double Trouble", was availible for free for a limited time on iTunes. The duo released their second EP, Winter, on January 24, 2012. The music video for their song "XYZ" premiered on CMT.com on May 8, 2012.
The duo annuounced on Twitter on March 5, 2012 that their next EP would consist of cover songs including their version of the Mamas & the Papas classic "California Dreamin'". That EP, entitled Undercover, was released on May 29, 2012.
After a three-year break, the duo released their first full-length album, Lost, on November 13, 2015.
Acting[]
On January 8, 2011 White made her acting debut by starring in a Fox TV movie titled "Change of Plans". She wrote and performed three songs for the movie, "Something Beautiful", "Let Us Live As One", and "Love Lovin' You". White next starred in the Hallmark Channel movie, Banner 4th of July, which aired on June 29, 2013.
Discography[]
Solo albums:
- Songs From the Attic (2005)
- High Hopes and Heartbreak (2009)
Holiday albums:
- White Christmas (2012)
Jack and White:
- Gemini (EP) (2011)
- Winter (EP) (2012)
- Undercover (EP) (2012)
- Lost (album) (2015)