James DeFrances

James Michael De Frances (born July 11, 1989, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is an American Adult Contemporary baritone vocalist.
Background
De Frances was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, but soon moved to Winchester, Virginia. Finally in 1995 he and his family relocated to Downingtown, Pennsylvania. He completed his initial education in the Downingtown Area School District and graduated from Downingtown High School with the class of 2007.
Career
His first public performance was in September 2003 at an Apple Butter Festival in Virginia. The show was well received among festival goers and prompted De Frances to set a goal to perform more widely in the coming years. In 2004 De Frances played as an opening act for the Glenn Miller Orchestra. He also performed in Chandler, Arizona and at New York City's historic Tavern on the Green in Central Park. In August 2005, De Frances appeared on the same bill as veteran crooner Al Martino at the Pittsburgh Italian Festival at the Station Square Amphitheatre. Private gatherings and corporate parties dominated his 2006 show schedule. 2007 brought even more opportunities, in July De Frances began work on what would become the short album "Christmastime is Here!" which is distributed by Lounge Lizard Records and Tunecore. During the summer of 2007 De Frances was talked into auditioning for the 2008 season of American Idol. The auditions took place at Philadelphia's Wachovia Center in August 2007. The evening of the audition De Frances appeared on MSNBC. An interview segment with Keith Olbermann aired along with a clip of De Frances singing the Johnny Mercer tune, Summer Wind.
Accolades
He has won multiple awards, including but not limited to the 2004 Make-A-Wish Foundation Talent Contest, the 2005 Atlantic City Boardwalk Superstar Show at Trump Plaza and the 2006 Three Little Bakers Dinner Theatre Idol Search.
Other
In early 2007 De Frances completed work as an intern at the Philadelphia-based CBS AM radio station 1060. Over 100 people participated in the internship and only 10 were recognized. De Frances received an award and a cash prize for his outstanding work on a series of Bio-Diesel and Alternative Fuels stories.
Local Downingtown reporter Joe D'Angelo of the Downingtown Ledger Newspaper has been reporting on De Frances' endeavors since early 2004 in his column.
In 2005 De Frances made a back stage appearance on The Tony Danza Show.

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