Devin Velez

 Devin Velez, of Puerto Rican & Colombian descent, was born in Chicago, in April of 1994. Long before appearing on and finishing as the #8 Finalist on Season 12 of American Idol, he performed his first solo in a talent show at the age of three (3) years old. At that time, he became the youngest member of his church choir until he was five (5), and of the Chicago Children’s Choir from ages ten (10) to fifteen (15).  In high school, he was the lead singer of Rickover Naval Academy’s Advanced Jazz Band and had the opportunity to perform the lead role in the musical “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown.”  Growing up listening to artists such as Stevie Wonder, Smokie Norful, Josh Groban, Frank Sinatra, Earth, Wind & Fire, and his mom (a singer herself), made it easy for him to tap into the diverse musical genres required of him in a competition such as Idol. He confidently performed themes such as Country, Pop, R&B, Ballads and legendary music by The Beatles. It was during his bilingual performance of “Somos Novios/It’s Impossible” by Armando Manzanero/Perry Como that he instantaneously captured the hearts of the judges. From receiving a standing ovation by Randy Jackson to witnessing Mariah Carey cry when he was voted off, it was clear to see that they, too, had become “Devineers”.  Since then, Devin has been on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Kelly and Michael Show,” “Ryan Seacrest Live,” “Entertainment Weekly with Michael Slezak,” and FOX TV News. He went on to perform in the Amercian Idol Live summer tour of 2013, which featured 30 domestic cities as well as two (2) in Canada.  In April of 2018, Devin released original music for the first time and has continued to hone his craft by performing on stages, YouTube, social media and the infamous shower.​He is currently working on a Christmas project now that is going to be released in November of 2019. He'll be again working with the Great, Eddie Torres from Rushing Winds Productions.​Today, Devin still lives and breathes music. He continues to succeed in his career by working on his debut album and continually performing at various events. In the kind words of Keith Urban, a distinguished musician, Devin was definitely “born to sing!”

• http://DevinVelez.com