James Durbin

Our crew chats with Jame Durbin, whom locals (and the rest of the world) probably know best as a finalist on season 10 of American Idol. He rose to prominence on the show because he's a rocker with a "heavy" heavy metal influence, and the show was more pop-focussed until James came along and rocked the house. Post-"Idol" (he came in fourth place), the show sponsored a parade in his hometown of Santa Cruz which resulted in the largest public gathering - 30K people - in Santa Cruz history. Fun fact: "Idol" normally only sponsors parades for the top three finalists, but fan demand resulted in James getting the only 4th place parade in the show's history. In the interview we dive into a long discussion of his vocal influences, including a deep cut conversation about the late Ronny James Dio, and we learn how he developed his vocal style from a foundation of choral work, and then LOTS of time watching YouTube videos and learning how to sing metal from studying his own idols. James lives in south county these days, so we'll also learn where his favorite taquerias are. Follow James on social media: Instagram Twitter Facebook