Guilford Singer Nick Fradiani Is An ‘American Idol’ Hopeful This Week

In July, when The Courant last checked in with Nick Fradiani, he was competing on the TV reality show “America’s Got Talent” with his band, Beach Avenue. The band got eliminated early on in the competition, during “Judgment Week.”

Don’t count Fradiani out yet. The Guilford keyboardist-vocalist is back, alone this time, on another TV talent contest, “American Idol.” His audition will air on Thursday, Jan. 15, he announced on his Facebook page. “American Idol” confirmed that Fradiani would be featured on the show on Thursday.

Reached by phone, Fradiani said he auditioned in October in New York for judges Jennifer Lopez, Harry Connick Jr. and Adam Lambert. Regular judge Keith Urban was called away on family business. Fradiani was in New York already, because Beach Avenue had performed a gig the night before.

“I had the same kind of feeling I had with the other show, that it’s not real,” he said. “I felt like I was watching TV. It was nerve-wracking.”

At the audition, he sang “In Your Eyes” by Peter Gabriel with his guitar, and “Waiting on the World to Change” by John Mayer without his guitar. He does not know if the televised audition will include both or just one of the songs.

He said he didn’t expect to be asked to sing a cappella, and it made him nervous. “When I play with the band I am never without the guitar,” he said.

If Fradiani passes muster on Thursday night’s telecast, he will perform on “Hollywood Week,” which will be broadcast starting on Feb. 4.

Beach Avenue, which is based in West Haven, didn’t get far on “America’s Got Talent.” But the guys — Fradiani, Nick Abraham and Ryan Zipp — got a lot of publicity for a song they sang on the show, “Coming Your Way.” Beach Avenue announced this week on its Facebook page that its single “Feel the Beat” has been added to the musical playlist in Hollister Co. stores nationwide.

The band first got local recognition when it won a Battle of the Bands at Mohegan Sun in 2011, which got the band a gig at the casino’s Wolf Den concert venue. Then they began posting videos of cover songs on YouTube, which got the attention of a talent scout from “America’s Got Talent.”

Fradiani said he will watch the show Thursday at his parents’ house in Guilford. Fradiani’s father, also named Nick, helps Beach Avenue on keyboards and vocals when the band performs locally.

Fradiani, a 2004 graduate of Guilford High who went to Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., spoke to The Courant last summer about his musical upbringing. “My father was a full-time musician my whole life. I was playing music on stage when I was 2 years old, at different lounges with my father. My first time singing in front of people was in the fifth grade,” he said.

“AMERICAN IDOL” New York City auditions, a two-hour show, will be broadcast on Thursday, Jan. 15, at 8 p.m. on Fox.