[6] In his teenage years, Quale developed a love for writing music and became "enamored" with David Bowie, Depeche Mode, opera, madrigals, Gregorian chant, the Smiths and Gilbert and Sullivan.

[6] Quale wrote and released a solo album, Worldview,[4] and was one of several young gay performing artists profiled in Brian Gleason's documentary Rise Up and Shout!.

[2][4] He also performed and entertained at La Belle Epoque, with Ann Magnuson at Redcat,[9] and has opened for The Dresden Dolls,[9] Club Dandy, Wig Out, Dirty Deeds[9] and Jer Ber Jones.

[6] Additionally, Quale has been collaborating with Kristian Hoffman, songwriter for The Mumps and Klaus Nomi, on a rock album entitled The Solipsist's Soliloquy.

[9] Recently, John showed his support for the Trevor Project, a nationwide non-profit organization focused on suicide prevention efforts among lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youth, through his "It Gets Better" video.

[11] Quale was studying opera and had completed learning the Figaro baritone aria "Largo al factotum" from The Barber of Seville.

[13] He wears elaborate costuming and "dresses as if he stepped out of a French Baroque painting (pantaloons, powdered wig and pasty makeup).

[5] For the New York City auditions (June 8) he performed a modified—to fit the 90 second timeframe—and slightly personalized version of the Figaro aria ("Largo al factotum").

[15][16] Sung at the first entrance of the title character, the repeated "Figaro" notes before the final patter section are an icon in popular culture of operatic singing.

For round 1 of the semifinals (August 24) Quale performed a modified version "Bohemian Rhapsody", a song by the British rock band Queen, written by Freddie Mercury for the album A Night at the Opera (1975).

In the middle he quoted from the second sentence of the United States' "Declaration of Independence", a sweeping statement of individual human rights, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal ..." While he spoke, images of American civil rights icons Abraham Lincoln, Susan B. Anthony, Harvey Milk, and Rosa Parks were shown as well as an image of Poppycock on a $3 bill.