Dalton Rapattoni is the 19-year-old singer from Sunnyvale, Texas who’s competing on the fifteenth and final season of American Idol. He brings a unique hybrid of rock and musical theatre to the show. Looking like Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day, he surprised the judges (and America!) at his first audition by performing an acoustic version of “The Phantom of the Opera.” When asked why he chose that song, Rapattoni said: “I love the lyrics and I love the melody.”
He told his local paper, The Star-Telegram, that he didn’t think he’d make it to the Top 24, but he did. Rapattoni said he thought he’d make it to the first round in Hollywood Week and then “gracefully fade away into obscurity.” If he really believed that the paper says, “he sold himself short.” He sure did. American Idol airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8pm on FOX.