Justin Guarini Illustrated Biography Page 2--EssentialJustin.com


January-February 2003	Filming of Simon Fuller's "From Justin to Kelly" takes place in Miami Beach, Florida. The spring break-themed movie was filmed in six weeks, in some of the coldest weather Miami experienced that year. The filming of the movie forces Justin to decline other offers, including that of the emcee in the Broadway production of Cabaret.
March 15, 2003	Justin meets his personal idol, Stevie Wonder, when both attended a birthday party for Quincy Jones. Justin later commented that he was astounded when Wonder thanked him for singing Wonder's songs and suggested they should do something together in the future.
April 30, 2003	Justin appears on American Idol 2 to premiere his first original song, I Saw Your Face, written by Babyface. Subsequently, while a guest on The Wayne Brady Show, Randy Jackson comments that Justin "sang one song and it was more enjoyable than [the whole second season to date]. . . . [H]e's got great showmanship."
May 14, 2003	Justin makes his second appearance on American Idol 2, to perform Unchained Melody. The song had been chosen by RCA Records and 19 Entertainment as Justin's first single, over Justin's objections to releasing a cover song that had been recorded over 500 times before. RCA and 19 Entertainment later agreed to release a double sided single of Unchained Melody and Sorry, a progressive pop-rock track.
June 10, 2003	Justin Guarini is released on RCA Records. Justin also appears on The Oprah Winfrey Show along with the American Idol 2 top 2 finalists (whose singles were released the same day), and gives his first nationally aired performance of Sorry.
June 2003	Justin appears on various talk shows, primarily to promote the release of From Justin to Kelly along with Kelly Clarkson. Typical was Justin's co-hosting of Regis & Kelly, where a clip from the movie was shown but his CD was featured only in the closing credits of the show. Similarly, he and Kelly Clarkson appear on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno the night before his album drops but the album is not mentioned.
June 13, 2003	Appears on Good Morning America's "Summer Concert Series" along with Kelly Clarkson. Justin performs Sorry and duets with Clarkson on Timeless.
June 14, 2003	Conducts a CD signing at the Warminster, Pennsylvania, Wal-Mart near his hometown. Thousands of fans show up. The appearance was scheduled to last two hours, but Justin vowed that he would not leave until everyone who wanted an autograph got one. Taking just one quick break during the course of the day, Justin signed the last autograph nearly eight hours later.
June 17, 2003	Justin's first solo musical appearance, on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, where he performs Sorry and is thrilled to meet actress Drew Barrymore.
June 20, 2003	From Justin to Kelly is released. The second of two premieres (the first having been in Burleson, Texas) is held in Justin's hometown of Doylestown, Pennsylvania.
June 24, 2003	Justin Guarini debuts on the Billboard chart at number 20. The release week was dubbed a "Super Tuesday," with several other major releases including Luther Vandross, Metallica, RadioHead, George Straight, and Annie Lennox dominating the album charts. Justin's singles are finally released to radio by RCA Records, where they received a scant few weeks of label support despite Sorry consistently appearing on the "most added" chart.
October 2, 2003	Makes his primetime television acting debut in the role of "Paul Hanson" on the WB comedy Run of the House.
December 2003	Announces that he has amicably dropped Simon Fuller and 19 Entertainment as his management. Around this time, RCA Records declined to exercise its option to request a second album from Justin. Justin later reported that no one from RCA contacted him about their decision; he learned about it in an entertainment news magazine.
January 27, 2004	During an appearance on The Ryan Seacrest Show, Justin announces that he has hired manager Benny Medina, best known for launching the musical career of Jennifer Lopez. A few months later Justin breaks with Medina, as do fellow clients Brandy and Ricky Martin, reportedly due to Medina's time commitments to reviving Mariah Carey's career.
May 22, 2004	Hosts the VH-1 Music Video Countdown from Lake Tahoe, Nevada.
July 29-August 1, 2004	Appears in the New York Stage and Film/Vassar Powerhouse Theater pre-Broadway workshop for Good Vibrations. Justin plays the role of "Jan," the extreme surfer. The musical is based on the music of the Beach Boys. Justin is the featured performer in three musical numbers, performs Surfin' USA, California Girls, and Darlin'. Justin is later offered the same role in the Broadway production but declines the offer. The musical ultimately has a short run on Broadway.
November 24, 2004	Appears in the AMC Channel's FilmFakers in an episode entitled "Song Island." The show is a largely improvised spoof of movie making. Justin plays himself (only with an out-of-control diva attitude) playing school principal "Mr. G." The musical spoof features the anthem, Starface, with the unforgettable lyrics about the leading lady's nose being "shaped like a guitar case."
Winter/Spring 2005	Begins work on sophomore album, a jazz project.
March 9, 2005	Advocates for saving music education in public school by participating in a Congressional delegation and performing for an invited group of Senators and Representatives along with the legendary Commodores, among others. The delegation presented Congress with a petition signed by over 10,000 students. This event was one of several activities in which Justin participated to bring attention to the loss of funding for music programs. "A child's day is too often filled with mind-numbing facts solely designed for the next high-stake test, and not life application. An arts education is imperative to our children's growth and well being, and is proven to have a direct and positive effect on all other forms of reasoning." -Justin Guarini
May 2005	Appears in independent short film, Tilt-A-Whirl, produced by Johnathon Schaech (That Thing You Do) and also starring Christina Applegate (Married with Children) and Chris Klein (American Pie). The film was featured in the Los Angeles film festival, Dances with Films.
May 9-12, 2005	Films role in The Unknown: Frankie the Squirrel, a sci-fi pilot shot at the Trump Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. Justin plays "Keith," a high-roller who encounters the lead character, "Frankie the Squirrel," a gambler who has been given lucky numbers by a mysterious man.
October 28, 2005	Celebrates his 27th birthday and debuts material from his upcoming album at a benefit concert in Japan for the Foundation for Global Harmony.
November, 2005	Hires Stiletto Artist Management (Barry Manilow, Diane Schuur).
December 6, 2005	Releases his second album, "Stranger Things Have Happened," a ten song collection of reinvented jazz standards. Justin described the album as "[a] 100% independent project, [representing] six months of experimentation, growth, and [a] new-found love for the art and style of Jazz." The Philadelphia Inquirer called Justin "an earthier Al Jarreau," and concluded that his "silky, yearning treatment of 'Night and Day' can already stand with anything neotraditionalists like Michael Buble and Jamie Cullum are doing."
January 21, 2006	Receives the "Music for Life" Award from the International Music Products Association (NAMM) at the annual NAMM convention in Anaheim, CA. The Music for Life Award "recognizes the extraordinary accomplishments of individuals who play a significant role in promoting music education in the nation's schools and whose dedication to music and music education serves as an inspiration to others."
January 25, 2006	Appears at the Georgia State House on behalf of SafeAmerica's teen driving safety programs and performs an a cappella version of "Sing" after being urged to "sing, sing" by the House members. At the end of his impromptu performance, Justin is rewarded with a standing ovation.
April, 2006	Begins work on his third album, which he describes as to include "R&B, Soul, Funk, Jazz, and a sprinkle of Hip-Hop all rolled into one." Justin also announces he is working with an upcoming independent label, 3:am Music, on this project, as well as a new digital download company, BurnLounge.com.
July, 2006	Global Harmony, USA, releases a recording of Gayuna Cealo's "Hymn #14, Did You Know I Know Your Journey," which Justin was commissioned to set to music by H.H.S. Cealo himself. The recording was co-produced by Justin and Greg Gordon Smith, who performed the musical accompaniment. Proceeds from sales of the Hymn benefit Global Harmony's world peace mission.
August, 2006	A song Justin wrote (music and lyrics) appears as the theme music in documentary entitled "Project Everlasting," a project examining successful marriages in the US. The trailer with the song can be seen here.
September 29, 2006	Performs his first, full-length solo concert at the Commerce Bank Arts Centre in Washington Twp., N.J. In concert, Justin was accompanied by the jazz musicians with whom he recorded Stranger Things Have Happened (except for the bass player): Katisse Buckingham on sax, David Hiltebrand on bass, Greg Gordon Smith on keyboards, and Jamey Tate on drums. About this time, Justin also announces that he signed for management with Nelly Neben, Axis Management (Rita Coolidge, The Yellowjackets).
December, 2006	Begins filming role in Fast Girl, an independent romantic drama about a young woman (Mircea Monroe) who dreams of being a race car driver, and the major racing team that comes to her small town. Justin plays the young woman's love interest.
January, 2007	Announced as a new correspondent for the TV Guide Channel, where he appears on Idol Chat and Idol Tonight and various other programs including the Grammy Red Carpet coverage.
February, 2007	Travels to the UK to work with Pete "Boxsta" Martin, an upcoming British R&B/soul/funk songwriter and producer. In an interview on American Idol Extra airing on April 5, 2007, Justin talked about how he found Boxsta when he saw his profile on the myspace page of another writer with whom Justin is working. On that show, Justin debuted one of the songs he and Boxsta wrote, a soul track called "Eventually."
March, 2007	Debuts as co-host on Idol Tonight. TV Guide Network announced that the ratings for the premiere were up 200 percent with persons ages 18-34, and up 67 percent in households year-to-year as compared to 2006.
June, 2007	Is the featured vocalist on two tracks on jazz bassist, David Hughes' new album, Foreign Shores. The tracks are Hughes' original composition, Brazil, and a remake of the Stevie Wonder classic, I Wish. Smoothvibes.com described Brazil as "a gem."
July , 2007	Appears as the the special guest of H.H. Cealo Gayuna at the International Heart Expo 2007 in Kanazawa City, Ishikawa Prefecture, Japan. The Heart Expo is held as a fundraiser to support CEALO Global Harmony, an international charity whose work includes setting up orphanages in Myanmar and Cambodia.
January-May, 2008	Returns for a second season of Idol Tonight and Reality Chat: Idol Wrap (previously known as Idol Chat), as well as Grammy Awards coverage and other special correspondent duties.
January 16, 2008	Launches a new three-times a week blog for Fancast.com, commenting on the seventh season of American Idol and recounting his own personal experiences in the inaugural season of the show. The blog is a candid and compelling view of what the finalists on Idol go through as their season progresses.
January 29, 2008	Fast Girl is released on DVD. On same date, The Unknown Trilogy is released, which includes the sci-fi short Frankie the Squirrel in which Justin has a cameo.
February, 2008	Has a song co-written and produced with Dave Darling featured as the lead single on Hot Tracks, a pressing of one million CDs distributed as part of a promotion for Dreyer's/Edy's Slow Churned Grand Light Ice Cream. The song, entitled Get It, is fun, funky and up-tempo.
March 7-8, 2008	Performs in a two-day concert event, "Blame It on Bacharach!," for AIDs Project Los Angeles, at the Wilshire Theater in Beverly Hills, California. This concert continues Justin's tradition of supporting AIDs charities, with previous performances in New York City and San Francisco.
May 16, 2008	Launches a new official website and releases a three song EP called "Revolve Acoustic." The songs were co-written by Justin and Shaun Ingram, and demonstrate Justin's singular ability to convey raw emotion with the mere nuance of a note. Also announced was All Access Pass Membership, a new fanclub program with an revolutionary degree of fan access to communicate directly with Justin.
June 3, 2008	Launches a new radio show, The Justin Guarini Show, on BlogTalkRadio.com. The show features music from independent as well as signed artists and interviews with those artists.
August 4-11, 2008	Tours military bases in Southeast Asia, specifically Afghanistan and Qatar, as part of a goodwill tour along with fellow Idol Alums Gina Glocksen, Brandon Rogers, and Nadia Turner.
September 30, 2008	Announced on the Justin Guarini Show on BlogTalkRadio.com that he is engaged to marry Reina Capodici, from his hometown of Doylestown, PA. The couple first met when Justin was friends with Reina's sister in high school.