Envy Man Magazine Online

During the first season of American Idol, viewers fell in love with a cute little boy with glasses and a great voice. Jim Verraros did not ultimately win Idol, but almost six years later he is still working as a singer and actor and poised to do even bigger things in the years to come.

Jim Verraros is still working in entertainment six years after his introduction by the pop juggernaut known as American Idol. He is one of a few to still be working.

His latest project, Eating Out 2, the sequel to his acting debut, sees him returning as Kyle looking for love in all the wrong places. The film was in limited art house release last year and hits DVD shelves in May.

“It’s a little weird now,” Verraros reflects. “I don’t often give myself credit, and try to remain modest. I am able to offer something different and it’s nice that people seem to still give a shit!”

According to Jim, “That first season had so much talent, and the energy was amazing. But now it seems that at the start of each season they showcase the freaks, and incorporate the gay community into that. It’s meaner than before and that’s disheartening. I was watching it and Simon said to a gay man that he needed to be performing in drag, stilettos and a dress. That is just offensive! There are so many talented gays and lesbians and that comment was just unnecessary. They are doing whatever they can for ratings.”

 Verraros came out after the first season wrapped, and found that the community embraced him; a community he used to have mixed feelings for. “I think that I still have fat-kid syndrome. I just feel like it is so stressful. I am being marketed toward the gay community and I never feel good enough. I travel so much and I meet so many beautiful people it is disgusting,” Verraros says with a laugh. “I work out like the next person but I don’t care that much. It can be a great stress reliever, but I’m not that body conscious like the rest of us [the gay community].”

“I remember going to my first gay bar as “a fattie” and no one looked at me. I feel that in the gay community rejection hurts more. We are so focused on perfection that we want to be recognized. It’s hard.”

“I used to have a type I looked for, the classic blond hair, blue-eyed out of an Abercrombie catalog cliché. Now I just want someone who makes me laugh, can be patient and listen to my parents who are deaf . . . you have to hold your own in a conversation with deaf people, you have to be sweet. Don’t be a fucking dick!”

On him being the first “out” Idol? “I came out because I was ready,” Verraros remembers. “I was 19, it was time. I thought it would be easier in the world. I wanted to be a part of the community. I wanted to go to a gay bar and be me. Staying in the closet is just not an authentic way to live. I would rather struggle on selling less CDs if it meant I could be who I am. People or performers who are gay—who is telling them to stay in the closet?”

So what does he think of the outings famed blogger Perez Hilton has done? “Who made Perez Hilton the expert? Does everyone believe what he has to say? He is a very smart person because he has made a name for himself out of nothing. But as far as outing people I feel like it’s none of his business.”

Right now the next focus is finishing his sophomore album set for a May/June release. “There is going to be a surprise duet. I am so excited! I want to tell you, I can’t. My first CD [Rollercoaster] was embraced by the gay community very much. I have new management, new representation and a new outlook; it’s an amazing time!

by: jtravis