Constantine James Maroulis (; born September 17, 1975) is an American actor and rock singer. He was the sixth-place finalist on the fourth season of the reality television series American Idol, and received a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Musical for his role in Rock of Ages. He starred in the title role in Jekyll and Hyde on Broadway, for which he received a Drama League Award Nomination for a Distinguished Performance Award.
Early years Maroulis was born in Brooklyn, New York to Greek American parents, James Constantine and Constance P. Maroulis (born 1938). Both his maternal and his paternal grandparents emigrated to the United States from Greece in the 1920s. He was brought up in the Greek Orthodoxy and he can speak Greek. His older brother, Athan Maroulis (born 1964), is a record producer and his sister, Anastacia P. Maroulis (born 1968), is a school principal.
When Maroulis was five years old his family moved to Wyckoff, New Jersey, a suburb in Bergen County, NJ, where he grew up. At that time he developed an interest in music, following the lead of his older brother. By age eleven he was studying the trumpet at Eisenhower Middle School.Tv.com
He later sang in high school garage bands, including Lady Rain and Milkbone. Maroulis graduated from Ramapo High School in 1993.Coutros, Evonne. " Starting 'Idol' on high note" , The Record, February 27, 2005. Retrieved April 15, 2007. "Maroulis, a graduate of Ramapo High School in Franklin Lakes, is one of 20 remaining contestants on the popular television show "American Idol," which boasts ratings through the roof and a loyal audience." He and received a B.F.A. in Music Theater from Boston Conservatory. He was in the cast recording of the 2000 musical, Suburban Dreams, which was produced by composer Stephen Thompson, Richard Kenner, and Jesse Merz. Some years before appearing on American Idol, Maroulis competed on the dating show Elimidate and was an extra in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and a voice-over artist on the Astro Boy.
He appeared in a number of off-Broadway roles from the Conservatory, along with a series of independent films. After graduating from the Conservatory, Maroulis trained as an acting apprentice at the prestigious Williamstown Theatre Festival in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts and performed as Roger Davis in the Broadway international touring company of Rent. His role as Roger was non-equity. Since he had no agent representing him at that time, he was allowed to appear on American Idol.
American Idol In August 2004, acting upon his then-girlfriend's suggestion, Maroulis traveled to Washington DC to audition for fourth season of American Idol. For the 2005 season, Idol producers changed the age range of contestants from 16–24 to 16–28. Along with Bo Bice, Maroulis was one of the first contestants to benefit from this change. Maroulis and Bice are also notable for being among the first contestants to compete using the rock idiom.
On April 27, 2005, Maroulis was eliminated from American Idol after he performed Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" during the 2000s music round. Less than a week before his elimination, Maroulis's pre-Idol band, Pray for the Soul of Betty, announced the 10 May release of their self-titled debut on their label, Baby Julius. Maroulis was featured on the American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers compilation with "My Funny Valentine". His rendition of the Queen classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" earned him the praise of judges. At the personal invitation of Queen's guitarist Brian May, Maroulis later recorded a studio version of the track for Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen, which was released on August 9, 2005 on Queen's label, Hollywood Records. | publisher = The Village Voice
List of American Idol performances Week # Song Choice Original Artist Result Top 24 "Kiss from a Rose" Seal Safe Top 20 "Hard to Handle" Otis Redding Safe Top 16 "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic" The Police Safe Top 12 "You've Made Me So Very Happy" Blood, Sweat & Tears Safe Top 11 "I Think I Love You" The Partridge Family Safe Top 10 "I Can't Make You Love Me" Bonnie Raitt Safe Top 9 "My Funny Valentine" Richard Rodgers/Lorenz Hart Safe Top 8 "Bohemian Rhapsody" Queen Safe Top 7 "Nights on Broadway" The Bee Gees Safe Top 6 "How You Remind Me" Nickelback Eliminated
Betty frontman
Maroulis became the lead vocalist of Pray for the Soul of Betty in 2003, after winning over 150 auditioners. The band rose to national attention when Maroulis appeared on Idol. His audition clip showed him "quitting" the band amongst the displeasure of one of his bandmates, which they have claimed is an inaccurate portrayal. On March 20, 2006, after three years with the band, Maroulis announced his departure due to creative and business differences.
Solo career
In November and December 2005, Maroulis performed solo shows in Manila, Philippines and New Jersey, USA. His set list included songs he had performed previously in his theatre roles, from Hedwig and the Angry Inch Rent, and Jesus Christ Superstar, as well as from his stint on American Idol. In August 2006, Constantine completed a solo tour of 13 cities, where he debuted material to be featured on his upcoming CD, including various self-penned compositions.: RockMyMonkey.com-P.O. Box 828 Olympia, WA 98507 (360)789-0703
Maroulis created his own independent label, Sixth place Records, a branch of Sixth place Productions, which released his 2-years-in-the-making solo album, Constantine on August 7, 2007. Maroulis' self-titled CD consisted of 12 tracks, and debuted at number 75 on the Billboard charts.
Maroulis performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at the 2013 Opening Day festivities for the New York Yankees. He has sung the Anthem at additional sporting events, including at the Reality All-Star Soccer Festival (organized by Survivor: Africa winner, Ethan Zohn) in April 2007, as well as before the start of a 49ers/Bengals football game at Monster Stadium, San Francisco in December 2007. The performance was hailed by commentator Bryant Gumbel as "a stirring performance." Maroulis has also performed the Anthem at Madison Square Garden in April 2009, and he performed God Bless America at the 2009 Men's U.S. Open. On July 4, 2009, Maroulis sang the National Anthem at the official ceremonies to re-open the Statue of Liberty's crown to the public, for the first time since its closure after 9/11.
Maroulis (supported by Ben Phillips, guitarist/vocalist for the NYC-based bands Famous and The Pretty Reckless) embarked on another solo tour in February 2008, playing to sold-out venues in Boston, Philadelphia, New York City, Annapolis, Maryland, and Los Angeles. On June 22 he performed at Mattison Park in Asbury Park, NJ as part of the 3rd Annual Wave Gathering featuring 175 Emerging Musical Artists.
On October 24, 2008 Maroulis appeared on an episode of Don't Forget the Lyrics! as a contestant. As a result of his appearance on the show, $25,000 was given to the charitable organization Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS.
In September 2009, Maroulis launched his "A Night at the Rock Show" series of sold-out solo shows in New York City, featuring "Constantine's unique interpretations of some of the greatest rock songs of all time," and backed by an all-star band.
Maroulis returned to the Idol stage to perform on April 7, 2011, where he debuted his single, "Unchained Melody". At the same time he also released his rendition of Chicago's 25 or 6 to 4, as recorded live at a Night at the Rock Show performance.
Maroulis has been a regular contributor to the Loukoumi series of children's books by author Nick Katsoris, providing the voice of Gus the Bear. In July 2011, he joined forces with Disney/Fisher-Price to become spokesman for their latest interactive plush toy, Rock Star Mickey. In conjunction with this project, Maroulis released a new single, an updated version of the Kinks' classic "You Really Got Me".
Maroulis partnered with the New York-based 1980s tribute band Jessie's Girl and frequently performed with them at various concerts and private events. At a concert held on July 18, 2014, at Tanner Park, Long Island, over 8000 people came to see him perform with the band. Maroulis also regularly performed with the Rock of Ages NJ band; along with entrepreneur Barry Habib.
In 2015, Maroulis recorded a version of the Lita Ford/Ozzy Osbourne duet "Close My Eyes Forever" with the New York-based band SYKA. The song was also released as a video. That September, Maroulis took part in the Rock in Rio festival in Rio de Janeiro. Maroulis formed MarKolTop Productions, with Diego Kolankowsky and Joanna Topetzes. Spring Awakening received a nomination for a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Musical.
Maroulis released "Here I Come", on January 29, 2016, and "She's Just Rock'n'Roll" in March. On February 18, 2016, with other American Idol alums, Maroulis returned to the show for its fifteenth season to mentor contestants and participate in Duets Week, where he performed "Bohemian Rhapsody" with Shelbie Zora and performed "My Funny Valentine" with Jenn Blosil. At the season finale, Maroulis returned with other former Idol contestants to celebrate the end of the series finale, where he performed a rock medley with Chris Daughtry, Bo Bice, Caleb Johnson and James Durbin, and a country music medley with Bucky Covington, Scotty McCreery, Ace Young and others.
Maroulis partnered with Scott Bradlee's band Postmodern Jukebox in early 2018 and performed a number of concerts with them around the United States and Canada. In spring 2018, Maroulis joined the rock band Adler's Appetite, created by Guns n'Roses' original drummer, Steven Adler, to join them on tour in Australia in May 2018 and for future dates. He headlined the "Off the Record Music Festival" in Atlantic City, New Jersey in June 2018.
Acting career
In the fall of 2005, Maroulis was in negotiations to star in a television sitcom called Brooklyn that was to be loosely based on his upbringing as the youngest of three in a large Greek-American family of New York. ABC bought rights to the show, but passed on the project before it passed the script stage.
Maroulis joined the cast of the Broadway musical The Wedding Singer in the role of Sammy in September 2006. Along with the other cast members, he contributed a recording of the Adam Sandler "Hanukkah Song" to the 8th Carols for a Cure CD to help raise funds for the Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS organization.
Beginning on January 9, 2007, Maroulis took over the role of "Young Soldier" in the Off-Broadway musical revue, Jacques Brel is Alive and Well and Living in Paris where he performed through the end of February. That spring, Maroulis joined the lineup on Good Day New York, serving as the show's resident American Idol expert, while simultaneously taking on the same role as Idol commentator for Yahoo! Buzz. Later that year, Maroulis joined the cast of The Bold and the Beautiful for a limited run as Constantine Parros, a singer and record producer, a role created specially for him.
March 2008 saw Maroulis joining the cast of American Idol Extra as cohost, along with fellow Idol alum Gina Glocksen and J.D. Roberto. His next major role occurred that June, when Constantine starred as Judas Iscariot in the Premier Theatre Company's production of Jesus Christ Superstar. Constantine had previously played the role of Jesus in an earlier production when he was much younger.