The first Wild Card contestant in the history of the series, they initially failed to reach the Top 10, but they were brought back by the judges to compete in the finals.
[6] When Helton first started performing music publicly as a child, they still lived in Pasadena,[7] but their father's job caused the family to move frequently.
[9] At age sixteen, Helton began performing in schools across the East Coast and the Ohio Valley, as part of a music tour that was sponsored by Reader's Digest.
[6][7] After high school, Helton moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where they joined a Christian boyband called Soul Focus.
[7] According to the bio on Helton's (now-defunct) official website, Soul Focus "was invited to tour with a major Christian artist.
Helton then moved back to Atlanta, where, according to CCM Magazine, they worked as "a personal trainer and a gymnastics instructor for children.
[1][11] They have also cited Mariah Carey, Boyz II Men, Bryan White, Vince Gill, and Natalie Grant as some of their primary musical influences.
[13] Their performance during the Top 30 semi-finals polarized the judges, causing Simon Cowell and Randy Jackson to break into a lengthy argument.
[17] Rushfield identified this as a defining moment in the early history of reality television, writing, "All of a sudden, here was this renegade show, American Idol, that was celebrating its backstory, playing up its frictions, and openly acknowledging its missteps.
[4][27] The 2005 book Uncloudy days : the gospel music encyclopedia by Bil Carpenter summarized Helton's time on American Idol by writing, "Though he has a pleasant, smooth vocal, he was criticized by the judges for having a somewhat stiff and wooden stage presence.
[34] Further boyband comparisons came from Dana Gee of The Province, who wrote that Helton had that "cross between Joey Fatone and Lance Bass thing going on",[35] Julie Hinds of the Detroit Free Press, who wrote that Helton possessed "the peppy personality of a boy-band star",[36] and Jessica Shaw of Entertainment Weekly, who upon Helton's elimination from the competition wrote, "I'm sure there are a few prayer-loving teens who are weeping their eyes out, but the rest of us know what Simon knew all along: This guy was barely good enough to be a boy-band understudy.
"[37] John Benson of the Mansfield News Journal described Helton instead as "falling somewhere between Boyz II Men and Craig David".
[10] Tom Conroy of US Weekly compared Helton to Jon Secada, writing that the two singers shared "the same endearing humility, brimming passion and sturdy-but-not-flashy vocal style.
[41][42] Through October and November 2002, they joined their fellow finalists from that season of the series as a performer on the American Idols Live!
[53] Shortly before the 2002 American Idol tour, The St. Petersburg Times reported that Helton was "talking to record labels" and pursuing a career in Christian music.
[54] On November 28, 2002, Helton performed during the lighting of Macy's Great Tree at the Rich's department store in Atlanta's Lenox Square.
[a] By the end of 2002, Helton had established a deal to appear alongside other American Idol finalists in commercials for Old Navy.
[57][58][59] Throughout the Spring of 2003, Helton participated in Coca-Cola's Behind the Scenes With American Idol promotional tour, in which he and a selection of other finalists from the first two seasons of the series performed across the country in shopping malls owned by the Simon Property Group.
[65] That June, Helton performed at the Southeast Emmy Awards[66] and in a benefit concert for community service organizations in Forsyth, Georgia.
[7] Shortly after the record deal was announced, Billboard reported that Helton's album would feature "an inspirational gospel feel and mainstream appeal".
"[76] "My Devotion" earned Helton a nomination for Urban Recorded Song of the Year at the 36th Annual GMA Music Awards.
[106][107] On August 28, they served as a judge for another singing competition, this one held, as part of a fundraiser with a Christian ministry, at Prairie du Chien High School.
That year, in October, during a conversation with Larry Flick on the LGBTQ-focused radio program OutQ in the Morning, in response to a question about why they were no longer making music, Helton came out as gay and said, "I can have a faith but can't be who I want to be.
[115] Around the time of the American Idol tour in 2002, Helton had come out to their fellow season one finalist Jim Verraros, who is also gay.
After Helton came out publicly, Verraros said, "I can't even imagine how difficult it was dealing with the gospel community and putting out a Christian record; having this kind of secret must have been really trying for him.
"[117] The publication reported at the time that Helton was "living in New York", "writing an autobiography", and "hoping to get into music producing and songwriting.
[128][129] That November, they and Gordon joined with former American Idol finalists Chikezie and Trenyce for a concert at Slippery Rock University.