Virginia native voted off American Idol

By MELISSA RUGGIERI
Richmond Times-Dispatch
Published: February 22, 2008

Colton Berry, the 18-year-old Staunton native, had a short run on his dream to “American Idol” stardom.
Berry was among the first four contestants from 24 finalists to be voted off the show Thursday night. He was joined by Joanne Borgella from New Jersey, Amy Davis from Indiana and Garrett Haley from Ohio in the going-home circle.
On Tuesday’s show, Berry performed Elvis Presley’s “Suspicious Minds,” which received lukewarm response from judges Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul and a typical scathing commentary from Simon Cowell.
“The whole idea of this show is to find a recording artist. So what did I get from that performance? Nothing. It’s just a young kid who might have a career in musical theater, but you have no relevance,” Cowell said.
The most acerbic of the judges wasn’t any more gentle Thursday, recommending to Berry that for his future, “Get a good job and then enjoy singing, because I don’t think you’ll make a successful career out of it.”
Abdul and Jackson countered Cowell, with Abdul telling Berry as he held back tears, “You are young, you are talented, you have a whole career ahead of you,” while Jackson chimed in, “Keep singing, dude.”
Berry is a resident of Fisherville and a familiar sight on the local theater circuit.