Names in the news
Philadelphia Inquirer June 28, 2002

He's been up since the wee hours of the morning, appearing on the "Today" show, doing satellite feeds for radio, conducting live Internet chats. But Doylestown, Pa.'s Justin Guarini isn't complaining.

"It's so much fun," the 23-year-old star-in-the-making said Thursday from Los Angeles, still on a high after learning he had made the cut as one of 10 finalists on "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar."

Guarini's stirring rendition of Stevie Wonder's "Ribbon in the Sky" Tuesday on the Fox show _ sort of like a 21st-century "Amateur Hour" for singers, but with bite _ earns him a chance at the grand prize, a record deal with RCA. He'll next compete on the July 16 show.

Life has changed dramatically for Guarini since he worked as a "party motivator" in Huntingdon Valley, Pa. "I was the one who sang, danced and acted, mostly for bar and bat mitvahs," he said. "But it helped me prepare" for "American Idol."

And what about that curly mass of hair that has become Guarini's trademark? Is it, uh, enhanced with a little perm?

"Noooooooo," he replied. "It's real and natural. My father (Eldrin Bell, former Atlanta police chief) is African American and my mother (Kathy Guarini) is Italian, so I guess I got the best of both of them."