Final Four
Nick Fradiani ’08 is headed home as one of American Idol’s final four, looking forward to a hero’s welcome.
The Wheaton College history major will return to Guilford, Conn., on Friday for a parade and concert, following his triumphant performances last night on the national television show.
The town has declared Friday, May 1, 2015, to be Nick Fradiani Day; local schools are scheduled to close early for the celebration.
Fradiani’s Wheaton friends are making plans to join the party, and the campus is rooting for him. We hear that he may be getting together with his former Wheaton basketball teammates for a pick-up game, too.
Last week, he gave an interview to the student newspaper, The Wheaton Wire, reflecting on his college career.
About his experience here, he said, “Wheaton has you thinking a lot differently than other places.” A highlight of his college experience was the people he met. Seven years after graduation, some of his Wheaton classmates are still his best friends.
Fradiani said to the Wheaton community, “Whoever’s at Wheaton, they made the right choice. If I could, I’d rewind and go back.” To those interested in music, he suggested, “Keep playing. If it’s something that you’re passionate about, keep doing it. If you think that this is what you’re supposed to do in life, you just have to keep pushing and working.”
The local newspapers, both near the college, and in New Haven and Guilford are following his progress, too.
The upcoming celebration in Guilford on Friday follows a pair of performances by Fradiani that the American Idol judges agreed won the evening.
For his first song, he performed the Matchbox 20 song “Bright Lights,”after which Judge Jennifer Lopez called the performance “so perfect,” and told him: “it was you at your best.”
In his second performance, Fradiani sang the Rascal Flatts’ hit “What Hurts the Most.” Judge Harry Connick, Jr., said that he could envision that song selling well on Fradiani’s first major label recording.
“Tonight, you are the star of the night,” gushed Lopez.
He will be the star on Friday, too.