Quentin Alexander

Quentin Alexander ( years old) is an American singer. He is best known for competing on the fourteenth season of American Idol in 2015.

After Idol, Alexander worked as a manager at French Connection, a men's clothier, in The Shops at Canal Place in New Orleans.

Early life and education Alexander was born and raised in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans which faced catastrophic damage during and after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It was a rough area where he lived, but says it made him tough while the city overall made him an artist. He states that growing up was difficult as he could not go out and play in his neighborhood so relied on his imagination. He noted there was always a fight or shooting or something going on so that it wasn't safe outside, but he still sees his hometown as a beautiful and artsy city. He was also bullied in school so had very few friends. He didn't start pursuing singing until he joined a youth center in his sophomore year in high school. Alexander's mentor and drama instructor at the school, Troy Populous, encourage him to channel his creative energy into drama class. Populous could see Alexander had charisma, an 'it' factor, and Alexander agreed that he was able to channel his frustration into "something beautiful, which at the time was theater." He since worked at developing himself personally and expressing what he "wants to represent as an artist." The show airs in 2015 starting in January. Alexander performed Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You" to the judges' approval, including judge Keith Urban deeming it "a Grammy performance". For "I Put a Spell on You" he chose it about a week before the show and experimented with American Idols arranger, he says the song was different every time he did it and is his favorite performance from his competing.

Alexander advanced to the top 7 with fellow New Orleans singer Joey Cook, who is originally from Virginia but has made the city her new home. The week that Cook was eliminated Alexander was upset that two of his friends Cook and Rayvon Owen hadn't made it into the top six, with those results all delivered on live TV. Alexander was visibly upset and called the situation "whack", something Cook later characterized as heroic, "Quentin is a very emotional person. He's very 'all cards on the table.' There is no sugar coating. He doesn't hide his emotions. He's honest. He's a raw human being, and I think what happened last night was at the perfect example of that and how emotional he is." Of the same night Billboard said Alexander "always gives strong interpretations of lyrics and highly conceptual performances". The producers played up the exchange in what Music Times termed "what seemed like shady circumstances" to replay the incident throughout the week in show promos and at the beginning of the Top 5 show. An AI source also stated that for fairness purposes the judges and contestants have a strict wall of silence between them and only interact onstage so Connick Jr. and Alexander have not had contact since last week. Yahoos managing editor Lyndsey Parker detailed many points that she argued was American Idol "throwing Quentin Alexander under the tour bus" referring to the idiom of throw under the bus by sacrificing a friend as the show heavily promotes the summer tour which only guarantees the top five finalists will be included. Included in her critique was that the show had aired the promotional video featuring the confrontation which she characterized as "misleadingly edited" to boost ratings which have been historically low, had a surprisingly few negative judges comments, and instead lavish praise for other contestants while Alexander's was pointedly negative, and what Parker saw as a "backhanded and unflattering" exchange from Connick Jr. insinuating Alexander needed Auto-Tune.

Appearance Alexander's personal style and clothing have become a touchstone for viewers and critics of AI. Scott Borchetta, a record executive and on-air contestant coach stated "Quentin has this really cool New Orleans vibe about him. He has these great piercing eyes. Every time he shows up, everybody always wants to know, 'What is Quentin wearing?' because it's always cool, and it's thrift-shop cool. It's like, 'You got that for what? Where?'" Heavy said he is "revered for his intensity and his fashion risks" on the show. "Light My Fire""Shake It Out" The DoorsFlorence & the Machine

Reprise performance duets from top ten "Riptide" duetwith Vance Joy Vance Joy

Discography

Singles "In The Air Tonight", American Idol, Top 11, Season 14 (2015) "Dark Side", American Idol, Top 9, Season 14 (2015) "Latch", American Idol, Top 8, Season 14 (2015) "Sound of Silence", American Idol, Top 7, Season 14 (2015) "Light My Fire", American Idol, Top 6, Season 14 (2015)