Mario Vazquez

Mario Vazquez, a 27-year-old from New York City, competed on American Idol's fourth season, airing on the FOX network in early 2005.

Related Topics:
New York City - American Idol - FOX - 2005

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After making it into the final round of twelve contestants and being widely praised by the judges, Vazquez mysteriously and suddenly dropped out of the competition for "personal reasons" a few days before the finals started. He was replaced by Nikko Smith, who had previously been voted out.

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Some believed that Mario quit the show in order to avoid the highly restrictive contracts that the final twelve must sign. Vazquez, however, appeared Monday morning on "Good Day New York," on New York's FOX 5, and squashed rumors of a feud with "American Idol" producers or any of his competitors. "'American Idol' was only positive. They were only wonderful to me, from the beginning through the middle, to the end," he told the show. "It had nothing to do with the contract or anything at all. I just needed to take care of some things in my life that needed to be focused on."

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In August 2005, Mario signed with J Records, the same company that manages Idol winners Ruben Studdard and Fantasia Barrino.

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