Casey James is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and TV personality, best known for his appearance in the 9th season of the reality-TV singing competition American Idol, where he finished in 3rd place and was eliminated on May 19, 2010. In addition, he was the oldest contestant to be selected for the Top 24
Casey James Quick Info
Height
6 ft 3 in
Weight
80 kg
Date of Birth
May 31, 1982
Zodiac Sign
Gemini
Spouse
Kelli Pentzer
Casey James is an American singer, songwriter, musician, actor, and TV personality, best known for his appearance in the 9th season of the reality-TV singing competition American Idol, where he finished in 3rd place and was eliminated on May 19, 2010. In addition, he was the oldest contestant to be selected for the Top 24 at the age of 27, and on the night he was eliminated, sang Daughters by John Mayer and OK, It’s with Me by Eric Hutchinson. Casey came back for the show’s finale and sang a duet of the song Every Rose Has Its Thorn with Bret Michaels and was also a part of the Top 10 tour called American Idols LIVE! after the show concluded. He was also signed by Sony Music Nashville in 2010 and released his debut country album Casey James on March 20, 2012. The best performing singles from the album were Let’s Don’t Call It a Night, The Good Life, and Crying on a Suitcase. The album itself peaked at number 2 on the Billboard US Country chart, and number 23 on the Billboard US 200 chart.
In 2014, Casey released his debut single Fall Apart from the already-announced unnamed 2nd studio album. However, Sony ultimately decided not to release his 2nd album, and he split with the recording label in 2015. Luckily, Casey turned to a well-known crowdfunding platform Kickstarter to ask for help in October 2016 and set the goal at $30k, an amount his fanbase quickly surpassed. This led to the release of his 2nd studio album, and the 1st as an independent artist, on June 9, 2017, titled Strip it Down, primarily of the blues genre, which failed to appear on the Billboard US charts. After a 2-year break that he almost entirely dedicated to his family life, Casey came back to Kickstarter on June 1, 2019, and set a fundraising goal for his 2nd independent album to be recorded in the studio in November 2019. In a time period of exactly 1 month, 497 people raised more than $63.5k, allowing him to stay an independent artist and continue doing what he loves without the pressure from recording label demands.
Born Name
Casey Everett James
Nick Name
Case
Casey James as seen in July 2010 (Joseph Anthony Baker / www.caseyejames.com / CC BY-2.0)
Sun Sign
Gemini
Born Place
Plano, Texas, United States
Residence
Texas, United States
Nationality
Occupation
Singer, Songwriter, Musician, TV Personality, Actor
Family
Father – Beau James (Singer, Guitarist)
Mother – Debra “Bybee” (Singer)
Siblings – Billy Cole “B.C.” (Older Brother) (Musician)
Manager
Casey James is represented by Mark Pucci Media (Publicist) in Atlanta, Georgia, United States.
Genre
Pop, Rock, Country, Blues
Instruments
Vocals, Guitar, Mandolin
Labels
BNA Records (2010-2012)
19 Recordings Inc. (2010-2015)
Columbia Records (2012-2015)
Build
Slim
Height
6 ft 3 in or 190.5 cm
Weight
80 kg or 176.5 lbs
Girlfriend / Spouse
Casey James has dated –
Kellie Marie Lister (2005-2007) – Casey married Kellie in 2005, whom he met at the age of 19 where they both attended Learning Tree Church in Mineral Wells, Texas, United States. However, only 2 years later, the pair separated.
Kelli Pentzer (2014-Present) – In August 2014, Casey announced he and Kelli Pentzer have gotten married. In February 2016, their 1st child, a daughter named Alexandria ‘Lexi’ James, was born. In mid-December 2017, the pair welcomed their 2nd child into the world, a son named Maverick Pierce James. 3 years later, in mid-July 2019, Casey shared with his social media fanbase that he couldn’t wait to meet his 3rd kid and a 2nd daughter, as his wife was already 7 months pregnant. In addition, he asked his loving fans for a suggestion as to which name they should give her.
Casey James with his children as seen in July 2019 (Casey James / Instagram)
Race / Ethnicity
White
He is of American descent.
Hair Color
Blonde
Eye Color
Blue
Sexual Orientation
Straight
Distinctive Features
Long middle-parted haircut
Tall height
Religion
Christianity
Casey James in an Instagram post as seen in April 2019 (Casey James / Instagram)
Best Known For
Finishing in 3rd place in the 9th season of the reality-TV singing competition American Idol (2010-2011)
Releasing popular studio albums such as Casey James (2012) and Strip It Down (2017)
His social media fanbase with more than 200k followers on Facebook and more than 100k followers on Twitter
First Album
Casey James released his debut studio album, titled Casey James, on March 20, 2012, under BNA Records, which sold more than 14k copies in its 1st week. The album was well-received by the critics and debuted at number 23 on the Billboard US 200, and number 2 on the Billboard US Country charts. It consisted of 11 tracks, titled Crying on a Suitcase, Let’s Don’t Call It a Night, The Good Life, Drive, Undone, Love the Way You Miss Me, So Sweet, She’s Money, Tough Love, Workin’ On It, and Miss Your Fire.
First TV Show
Casey James made his first TV show appearance as ‘Himself’ in the episode titled Auditions: Denver of the music, reality-TV series, American Idol in February 2010.
Casey James Favorite Things
Hobbies – Reading, Watching & Playing Tennis
Movie Franchise – Star Wars
Personal Quote – “Every sunrise on another day is another chance to smile.”
Casey James in an Instagram post in August 2019 (Casey James / Instagram)
Casey James Facts
As a kid, his health was threatened due to an allergic reaction to the pertussis vaccine. The doctors and his parents feared he would suffer brain damage, which he luckily didn’t.
Casey grew up in Cool, a town located about 45 miles west of Fort Worth, Texas, United States.
His family has deep musical roots, as both of his parents were involved in music at church. They divorced when he was 4 years old.
The 1st memory he has of music was the album by Ricky Skaggs that he listened at his grandparents’ house.
When he was 7 years old, lightning struck his house, so he didn’t have a TV at home.
His mom bought him his 1st guitar at the age of 13.
At the age of 17 years old, he and his brother B.C. formed a band named Casey James Band and started doing gigs in Texas, United States. During one of many years, Casey played 364 out of 365 days but still couldn’t collect enough money for a record deal.
The 1st song he ever wrote was titled Freezing, which he wrote for Casey James Band in 2002.
Casey was jailed for DUI and reckless driving between 2001 and 2003.
At the age of 21, Casey nearly lost his life in a motorcycle accident, suffered severe arm injuries and was told he would never play guitar again. Luckily, he recovered but stated: “It changed my outlook on life in every way. I had maybe half a second to think before I truly thought the end had arrived, and I just remember a feeling of regret that I had not treated people better.”
He had never seen American Idol on TV prior to his appearance.
After American Idol (2010-2011) ended, he signed a record deal contract. It was for a country album, which wasn’t his ideal choice. However, he quickly realized that the modern country genre allowed influences from many others.
Regarding his appearances as a contestant, a music critic for USA Today, Brian Mansfield, considered Casey “the best guitar player the show has seen.”
He feels like the genre that truly represents him is blues mixed with rock.
Casey has opened for the Sugarland, at the 2011 tour of a well-known country duo from Douglas, Georgia, United States.
The musicians and singers that had the biggest influence on him were Doyle Bramhall II and Stevie Ray Vaughan and Stevie’s album titled In The Beginning (1992).
The bands that influenced him the most were Pearl Jam and Lynyrd Skynyrd.
In the early days of his career, Casey always played the guitar and sang with his eyes closed, because the music was so personal to him. After American Idol competition ended, he felt more confident in himself to open his eyes during performances.
He pranked his fanbase by pretending to shave his head on video on April 1, 2015. Many people freaked out and commented they were sad to see his luscious long hair go but were relieved to find out it wasn’t real.
He made a brief appearance as an actor in the role of Jasper in the TV movie Urban Cowboy in 2016.
Casey named his 2nd studio album Strip It Down (2017) as such because he shed all of the expectations of a big record label and TV producers. He stated: “All I want to do is play music. Stripping it back to just me making a record of music that I love was a huge stepping stone in my life.”
Visit his official website @ caseyjamesofficial.com.
