Chris Medina – Breakeven – American Idol 10 Audition

Everyone brings their familys with them to the auditions. If producers see someone with obvious issues they are going to talk about it. For me it was just a reminder that bad things do happen and shouldnt be hidden and that i should count my blessings and thank God daily for the health of my family. Chris has a good voice, I think he should of at least been left on American Idol until public voting started. Would he have been the next idol? Who knows but many people in the past seasons have been voted off who had very sad stories and most of the winners or even top few of every season have led pretty normal lives. In the end its not about sad stories, it becomes about voices and how personality, how much people like them!

People are so cruel. This man didn't bring her up. If you look at the clips, he was ASKED if he was married. He was ASKED by the judges. Everyone tells their story, his happens to include a tremendous heart breaking tragedy. I disagree with this author that it's exploitive because in the end he had talent. He wasn't talentless and the judges "let" him through. There are many UNtalented successful singers. American Idol is looking for a package (charm, a look, appeal etc.). He can still go on to have a singing career. All the best to him and his family.

i think the REAL problem here are the douchebag AI fans who would even think for a second to criticize Chris for this...

The guy is one of the best I've heard on the auditions this year. Plenty of others have sad stories. His talent will carry him or it won't.

Rickey you think he is a douchebag because he is a bigger man then you.

Is it irresponsible to exploit someone who has medical bills and need treatments that her insurgence wont cover and you sit down and say "God how are we going to pay for this"? I woke up this morning and saw the news story on AOL with this clip. Went to facebook did some searching and found a facebook page that has postings and videos posted over a year ago here
http://www.facebook.com/#!/video/?oid=166135780978

and then found the fund raising page here

http://www.laurusfoundation.org/help-juliana-ramos.php

When I found the page it was mid 13,000 range with the goal on there at 16,000 and it now has 22,000. this didnt happen yesterday Chris has been with her over a year after her accident, he didn't audition at season 9 he has talent and if he doesn't make it any further if nothing else he can hopefully be in a position to help her even more with medical bills.

Lets not forget what role producers play in this. When you see them do a video montage of someone they shot that AFTER the person came in and talked about themselves. THEY choose what stories they want to show the judges didn't see that montage they heard they guy say "well my girlfriend got in an accident and what kind of guy would I be to leave her after the vow I would have made two months later" He didnt stand there for an hour they dont have that kind of time. One person that sticks out in my mind all the time is Asiah Epperson because she was still grieving for her father who died two days before her audition. Do you think she said "I am going to use this to go to hollywood" no she was thinking "my dad would want me to continue on".

I commend him by standing by his fiancé and sharing this experience with her publicly. It's not a sympathy story at all. It's real life. He shows great character and I hope that his talent takes him to the final 10. If anyone deserves god's blessing it would be him.

I have been personally following his gf Julianna's story on her site on face book, http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=166135780978
Her mom has kept her in everybody's eyes also by updating her journey on fb and on there you will see the transformation from her accident, in the hospital where Chris sings to her all the time and how he is with her everyday. He cares more than anybody will ever know, and it shows in everything he does. Why shouldn't she be allowed to be there to cheer her fiance on. She is alive and can see, hear and understand what is going on. She has always loved to hear him sing. What makes it different for her than any other fiance watching the person they love live a dream out!?

I think their story is very sweet and touching considering not all guys would takecare of their fiancee after they got in a big accident... but whether he is exploiting her or not, i think what matters is that he sang his audition piece really well, and he did deserved the gold ticket.. :)

Well I don't want to give any comment about his girlfriend but without any doubt, I can say that the guy Chris Medina has all the qualities and capabilities that are required in a star.

So many haters out there. I've got a pretty sensitive antennae for television exploitation, but I admit, I was genuinely moved by this kid's story. Chris has a genuine talent that might get him to the finals of this show. He genuinely loves this woman who, through no fault of her own is now almost helpless. Do you douchebags who think Chris is awful for standing by the woman he loves, regardless of her circumstances, have even an ounce of heart or empathy for your fellow human being? Good luck to you -- maybe one day, you'll be lucky enough to have a traumatic brain injury and the people you love will abandon you instead of sticking with you the way this kid is doing.

Ok,,there is always going to be someone out here that WISHES that they had an incredible story like this young couple.To me this is TRUE LOVE over and over.No one Wishes that this would happen to them.It is the jealousy part that shines through when they say he just got it for sympathy.Shame on you. The man was asked a question about his fiancee and he answered it.It would have been horrible if he wouldn't have mentioned what happened because it would have showed he was embarrassed or her.If I was her I would have been proud of that fact of him letting it all out.He has got a better singing voice than I do so who am I to judge.Plus, with time it will get even better.

Well, people seem to forget why David Cook won season 7. Because of the ill brother. Even after his album came out, he promoted his single by selling his ill brother. Now that his brother has gone, where is David Cook nowadays? Red carpet artist in AMA? Gross.

I work with a lady who knows him personally. She said that he really does have a heart of gold - he's the nicest guy you'd ever meet.

I didn't see him exploit his fiance at all - the judges asked to hear about her, asked to meet her...why should she have to hide just because of a disability? It's an amazing story. And I guess if that's douchey than I don't know what isn't.

I know Rickey personally, and I know he's not mean-spirited. He did NOT say that Chris Medina was a douche... Go read it back again. He was merely reporting what "Vote for the Worst" said... Dont get on his case about it, please...

When Steven leaned over and whispered in her ear, any bad feelings I’ve ever had about the man just melted away into tears: “That’s why he sings so good, cause he sings to you.” It's not what he said so much as the way he said it.

The story’s all about Julianna and Chris, but the judges’ reaction – Steven’s in particular – gave it relevance to millions of viewers.

There’s a website so people can make donations to fund her treatments, so they can someday afford to have a wedding: http://www.laurusfoundation.org/help-juliana-ramos.php

Im at a loss for Words Rickey. He was just sharing their story with the rest of the world!! Nothing douchebag about that!! I myself am married to the love of my life. We have been together for 11 years and married for 6 months. My wife also was involved in an auto accident Feb 6th 2009. And also suffered a traumatic brain injury. I applaud them both for their bravery in sharing their story. Kudos to you Chris and Juliana!! Good luck on AI, my wife and I will both be rooting for you!! With all that we have in common, I would love to somehow get in contact with him.

This guy went through something very tragic and chose to stay and deal with the situation...and now he has douchebags that run a website for douchebags calling him names...the VFTW guys don't have souls.

Chris Medina seems like a genuinely nice person. I don't understand how people can be so mean.

I hope none of you guys have to deal with a tragedy like this. Anybody who is heartless about this guy or Danny Gokey's situation are the real douches. Just try to be in their shoes and tell me how you would feel. They have a right to love their loves however they want. Are the supposed to hide their wives/girlfriends and act like the tragedies never happened? No. This guy has a great voice and a touching story.

it sad that there are people in this world who would see a REAL man, who loves for better or for worse and till death does them part, and call him a douche because he answered a question. God bless Chris, his heart is in the right place and he isn't ashamed of the woman he loves. shame on anyone who would speak ill of the man for sharing his story, Chris is ten times the man they will ever be.

Also, anybody who has any knowledge of vocal technique will tell you those transitions from chest to head voice ( that's going from the mid range notes to the really high notes) are very difficult to pull off and can only be done with practice and skill. he doesn't have the best voice in the world but his love shows in his singing. he probably won't win it all but he will get far. for him that seems like it will be enough.

I have been blown away you are the defintion as a true gentlemen a man focused on the true gospel of the lord. I admire you and your personal faith whatever that may be I don't care if your win this contest . From this day forth you are hero and you are showing to the world that you are caring for a loved one and you are using a gift giving to your by the lord to assistant you and your loved ones. Others may not agree but I can be certian that without your circumstances I doubt that you would have had the courage to show the world the talent the good lord gave you. You are a chosen man to have this path put in front of you. Knowing your issues I'd admire your courage and love and regardless of what happens in this journey with american idol as far as I am concerned you are already a hero.Please consider sharing your strenghth and courage with youth, inspire them to care as you do for others. Wow You are as Pink would say " to school for cool" Thank you for allowing me to see a hero in my era.

Everyone lives their lives differently, instead of pointing a finger and judging someone so harshly... ask yourself, can you as a person do what he has done. I think that this speaks wonders about his character, because as humans i don't think everyone would be able to have done what he has... i like his rendition of breakeven...

I usually hate the sob story bs... This is the first time in all 10 seasons where I've been bawling in a pillow. Danny Deadwife got out of his marriage, scott free. He's able to go on with his life and exploit her memory for his own gain... This guy has stayed with this woman, all this time. For that, I forgive him for detailing his story for sympathy votes.

I didn't care for the singing, though. However, I'm glad he got to make it through this round.

You don't realize how Fox or American Idol work. You audition in front of the shows crew, if you are good enough they bring you back to audition in front of the REAL judges for the camera. How do I know this? Because I know Chris Medina and shared the process with me. Once the show found out his story they took it and ran with it getting permission from Juliana's mom to share the story, film the bit you saw, etc. Chris is not exploiting his story, he just wants to be the next American Idol and Fox will milk his story for all the ratings they can get.

To call him a douche is simply idiotic. He's been a singer for a long time, has a band, and had a wedding planned when tragedy struck. Only good can come from his and Juliana's story being known. Tonight alone her fund to raise money for medical treatments has surpassed its goal.

I heard that his girlfriend was a singer and SHE always wanted to be on American Idol, so after this all happened, he decided to continue to pursue their dream......Makes the story even more special and certainly not exploiting.

There is a difference between hiding her and exploiting her.

I commend him. He does sing beautifully. His falsetto and change from chest to falsetto was very smooth. He deserves props, not name calling, for staying with the woman he loves. That is true love and I don't believe for a second he is deliberately using it for a sympathy vote. She is part of his life, just as simple as he breathes; that he loves Juliana and is praying for a miracle. He is not embarrassed to have her by his side, he takes care of her and helps her mom. That is totally chivalrous. Many men would have walked away because of the situation. He chose to stay; for better or for worse.

You know Rickey, I think you're the douche bag here. Should they just lock her in a closet? Should she be hidden. Her family was there. She can communicate. She's not in a coma or dead. I guess in your world everything is wonderful. If he was a douche bag he would have been out of there a year ago. How the hell did I stumble onto this site?

You all are so harsh saying someone should hide their true story until after the competition. It's the most defining thing in his life why should he feel the need to hide it. If I were him I wouldn't give a crap about internet fools saying he is using his wife for fame. AI asked him to tell his story and it's the biggest thing in his life. Give it a rest.

I mean.. Chris can sing well but he is nothing exceptional.
Unfortunately he will get TONS of votes this season because of his story.
I agree with Rickey he shouldn´t have used his girlfriend to audition. Work with your voice first dude. Learn from David Cook he never said anything about his brother until much later and he won the show. Just saying.
I think he will be the Gokey of this season probably will get to Top 3 or so but I really hope he doesn´t win. So unfair to use a story like that.

Well, the story was better than the singing.

Many people feel sorry for themselves to much, its easy to do. Watching this story makes a person realize how blessed they are to be able to talk and walk and get on with their lives with out help doing so. There is no room to feel sorry for our selves for the most part ever. On ward and up ward we must go in life all the time. Count our tender mercies. Life is hard, just get up and do it each day and realize how lucky we are to get up and do it each day. So many cannot just get up and go out each day and do it for themselves.

Would it be better to have just left her home? If she wasn't disabled, would he have brought her anyway? Other guys bring their girlfriends, fiancées or wives.

Yeah, I get it. It's the sympathy vote, which the show loves to do but this guy was really, really good.

I guess it's douche-y to stand beside the woman you love. It's douchier to leave her when she doesn't measure up.

And Steven Tyler certainly got all choked up.

Go, Chris! He sang a song I love and he sang it so well.