Editing Jim Verraros (section)

{{short description|American singer, songwriter, and actor (born 1983)|bot=PearBOT 5}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2024}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|name = Jim Verraros
|image = <!-- [[Freely licenced]] images only. Please do not put a fair-use image here, it will be deleted - see [[WP:NONFREE]] -->
|background = solo_singer
|birth_name = James Conrad Verraros
|birth_date = {{birth date and age|mf=yes|1983|2|8}}
|birth_place = [[Mount Prospect, Illinois]], U.S.
|origin = [[Crystal Lake, Illinois]]
|genre = {{hlist|[[Pop rock]]|[[Dance (music)|dance]]}}
|occupation = {{hlist|Singer-songwriter|actor}}
|years_active = 2002–current
|label =  [[Koch Records]]
|website =
}}
'''James Conrad Verraros''' (born February 8, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor, who placed ninth on the [[American Idol (season 1)|first season]] of ''[[American Idol]].'' [[Child of deaf adult|Raised by deaf parents]], he is fluent in [[American Sign Language]] and gained notoriety on ''American Idol'' for signing the lyrics to his audition song. After competing on the series, he released three [[pop rock]], [[Dance (music)|dance]] albums with music producer and songwriter [[Gabe Lopez]]. Verraros was also featured on the 2002 [[compilation album]] ''[[American Idol: Greatest Moments]]'', covering "[[Easy (Commodores song)|Easy]]" by the [[Commodores]] – this album reached number four on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart.

While participating in the [[American Idols LIVE! Tour 2002|2002 American Idols LIVE! tour]], Verraros came out as gay. He was the first ''American Idol'' finalist to come out, and he remained the series' only publicly gay finalist for over three years. Several organizations subsequently honored Verraros as an influential figure within the [[gay community]] (such as ''[[Out (magazine)|Out]]'' magazine, which named him to its "Most Intriguing People" list twice, first in 2002 and again in 2006). Throughout his music career, Verraros performed at numerous [[pride events]]. He also toured at [[gay clubs]].

Verraros released his official debut album, ''[[Rollercoaster (Jim Verraros album)|Rollercoaster]]'', through independent label [[Koch Records]] in 2005. It was accompanied by two singles and received generally positive reviews. Some of the songs from ''Rollercoaster'' had previously been featured on a [[demo album]], ''Unsaid and Understood'', which Verraros had self-released through [[mp3.com]] around 2003. The lead single from ''Rollercoaster'', "You Turn It On", peaked at number twenty-one on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Dance Club Songs|Dance Club Play Chart]].

In addition to music, Verraros pursued an acting career. He had a starring role in the first two installments of the [[Gay film|gay]] [[comedy film]] franchise ''[[Eating Out (film series)|Eating Out]]'', and he had a cameo in ''[[Another Gay Movie]]''. He also stayed involved with ''American Idol''-related projects for several years. In 2003, he joined with various finalists from the first two seasons of the series for a promotional tour of select shopping malls throughout the United States, and later, he co-hosted a video recap series of ''American Idol''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s [[American Idol (season 7)|seventh season]] for [[AfterElton.com]].

In 2007, Verraros released a non-album single about his then-to-be husband, Bill Brennan; the song, "You Make It Better", was featured in the second ''Eating Out'' film. Verraros and Brennan married in 2009. The same year as his wedding, Verraros self-released three new singles, although the accompanying second album, ''Do Not Disturb'', was not released until 2011. Following ''Do Not Disturb'', Verraros announced his intention to retire from music. He subsequently served as executive vice president of Brennan's organization, Bridal Expo Chicago and Bridal Expo Milwaukee. Verraros and Brennan have since separated.