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Nick Fradiani Wins on ‘American Idol’

Where was the cheering the loudest—in Guilford, where Nick Fradiani, Jr., attended high school and where his parents live today? In East Haven where he was born and raised, or maybe Branford, where he attended St. Mary School? In the end, the only contest that mattered on May 13 was Fradiani’s triumph on the finale of American Idol.

Fradiani faced off against Clark Beckham in tonight’s two-hour episode, which wrapped with a fan vote reveal naming Fradiani the 2015 American Idol winner.

Locally, fans were gathered at Spotlight Theatres in Hartford, where the cinema owner has donated viewing party space from the beginning, as well as an impromptu, outdoor viewing party in the parking lot of Guilford’s St. George Church organized by Dee Jacobs, co-owner of The Marketplace at the Guilford Food Center, which co-sponsored the event with fellow Guilford stalwarts Bishop’s Orchards and Naples Pizza.

It has been a wild ride for Fradiani. He was back in Guilford on May 1 after making his way to the final four, and the shoreline converged on the Guilford Green for a parade and concert featuring Fradiani’s band Beach Avenue. While his Guilford support started strong and only grew as the contest progressed, the 10,000-plus fans on the Green that day came from the shoreline and beyond.

In Guilford, many thought it was his basketball prowess he displayed at Guilford High School that would take him places—and it did. It took him to Wheaton College, where he unfortunately got injured while playing, and where he began to focus on his real passion, music.

Fradiani said he inherited his musical abilities from his father, Nick, Sr., who spent his life as a musician traveling around the country playing shows in Las Vegas, on cruise ships, and other locations. Now the seasoned music man accompanies his son’s band, playing keyboard and offering back-up vocals when needed.

Acknowledging not only his father’s influence and good genes for his musical talent, Fradiani, Jr., also credited the tutelage of Tahme Adinolfi, the teacher of the Voices group at Guilford High School, for his musical success.

He said, “I learned a lot from her, and she really helped me develop my voice.”

Fradiani was also in the Guilford High School Choir for all four years and said singing tenor back then has definitely paid off.

America, apparently, agrees.

Staff writer Karena Garrity contributed to this report.