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| Birth Name(s) : Paris Ana'is Bennett |
Date of Birth: N/A |
| Status:
Single
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Partner:
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| Profession:
Musician |
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Full Paris Bennett Biography
Paris Ana'is Bennett (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer. She came to national recognition as a contestant on the fifth season of the reality television talent show, American Idol, and was eliminated from the competition on May 3, 2006, finishing in fifth place. On May 8, 2007, Paris Bennett released her debut album Princess P on 306 Entertainment/TVT Records.
Bennett was born in Rockford, Illinois, to Jamecia Venzett Bennett, former soprano vocalist of the vocal ensemble Sounds of Blackness, and current solo artist. Bennett was raised by her mother and stepfather, downtown developer Nedal "Ned" Abdul, in Edina, Minnesota. Paris began performing at the age of six and was trained by her mother and grandmother, Ann Nesby, the former lead singer of the Sounds of Blackness.
Bennett had decided to pursue gynaecology, not wanting to walk in the limelight of her family. However, Bennett's grandfather, Tim Lee, saw that the American Idol auditions were being held in Greensboro, and Bennett agreed to try out but said she would give up singing if she did not make it, as stated on the show.
In the first Hollywood round, Bennett sang Can't Fight the Moonlight and was put through to the next round. She then performed a group performance of Emotion with Hannah Freeman and Stevie Scott, which was said by Cowell to be pitiful overall. Bennett was put through. For her third performance, Bennett sang Fever. She was then put through to the Top 24.
On February 21, Bennett performed Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight & The Pips. The judges enjoyed the performance. On February 28, Bennett performed Bette Midler's Wind Beneath My Wings, and was told that it was a good vocal performance, and to avoid performing older songs. On March 7, Bennett performed Gloria Estefan's Conga. The judges liked the decision to sing an uptempo song, although the vocals were average. Bennett was put through to the Top 12 on March 9.
April 18 was the Great American Songbook theme night, and Bennett performed These Foolish Things. Rod Stewart commented that "for seventeen, Paris is amazing." Jackson said that it was her best performance. Abdul said that Bennett could have a hit album of these songs. Cowell found it stylish and classy. Bennett was placed in the bottom three with Chris Daughtry and Ace Young, but was not eliminated.
The theme of the April 25 show was love songs. Bennett performed Barbra Streisand's The Way We Were. David Foster called her rehearsal performance "very nice", and Andrea Bocelli called her voice spectacular. Jackson said that he liked it although he was not blown away. Abdul thought Bennett oversang in parts, but overall it was the best female vocal of the night. Cowell called it a very good vocal, but old-fashioned. Bennett was in the bottom two with Kellie Pickler, but was not eliminated.
The first theme on May 2 was songs from the contestants' year of birth. Bennett chose Kiss by Prince, although the version released in 1988 was by Art of Noise, featuring Tom Jones. Jackson liked the performance. Abdul stated that she loves Paris singing songs from the past eras. Cowell found it screechy and annoying. The second theme was songs on the current Billboard charts. Bennett performed Be Without You by Mary J. Blige. Jackson thought that Bennett rocked it. Abdul thought that she loved Bennett's voice on the song, but was wishing for an individual flip on it. Cowell thought that Bennett did rather well with the song. On May 3, Bennett was placed in the bottom two with Yamin and eliminated from the competition.
Bennett returned to perform on the finale. As did the other top five contestants, Bennett performed a duet with an artist, in this case Al Jarreau, on "We're In This Love Together". Bennett has since stated that she would love to have a duet with Jarreau on her debut album. She also performed Close To You by Dionne Warwick, and in the girls' medley sang Man! I Feel like a Woman!, Natural Woman, I'm Every Woman, and "Trouble". Prince, who was appearing for a surprise performance, met and thanked Paris for singing his song, and fulfilled her request for a kiss on the cheek.
Bennett recorded Midnight Train to Georgia for the American Idol Season 5: Encores compilation album. The track has sold 9,100 legal downloads as of August 10, 2006.
Bennett and her mother performed at the 2006 Divas Simply Singing AIDS benefit concert. Bennett performed "Take Five" at "The Gathering Live", a concert to raise awareness of domestic violence. At the 2006 BET Awards, Bennett announced plans for a clothing line, "Tres P" (Three times the Paris), to "help you find your royalty". Bennett, Young, Mandisa and Kevin Covais are all appearing on the Walt Disney World Christmas special. Bennett is performing on the Walt Disney Cruise to St. Lucia, along with Bianca Ryan. Bennet sang the National Anthem at the Minnesota Twins home opener on April 2, 2007 at the Metrodome in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Was a guest judge on MTV show SWK 2.0 along with New York and Danity Kane's Aubrey.
Paris was featured on Radio Disney's Incubator. After this I Will and My Boyfriend's Back were able to be requested. |
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