Diana Nicole DeGarmo (born June 16, 1987 in Birmingham, Alabama) is an American singer and Broadway actress. She finished as the runner-up on the third season of the reality/talent-search television series American Idol, narrowly missing the win by about 2% (approximately 1.3 million votes) out of over 65 million votes. At 16, DeGarmo was the second youngest contestant among the set of finalists in the third season (the youngest being John Stevens); she was a junior at Shiloh High School in Snellville, Georgia.

Biography
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, DeGarmo has been singing publicly from a young age, including at the 1997 Georgia Music Hall of Fame Awards, and in stage productions of Annie and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in Atlanta. As a third grade student, she was a Coca-Cola Kid during the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. The next year, she sang at Opryland USA during the Christmas holiday season. In 2002, she was named Miss Teen Georgia and was a finalist on the NBC talent search program America's Most Talented Kid. At ten years of age, DeGarmo was one of the "Cartoon Network Kids". She has also appeared in various telefilms during her childhood. DeGarmo is niece to Eddie DeGarmo of DeGarmo & Key. DeGarmo is best known for being the runner-up in the third season of FOX's hit reality show American Idol. She performed on the "American Idols Live" tour with the other season three Idol finalists during the summer of 2004, which included a show in Singapore in October 2004. She toured independently in 2005, at a few venues in order to promote her debut album, Blue Skies. In December 2005, she entertained troops in Southwest Asia on a USO tour that was hosted by General Peter Pace.

DeGarmo has also gained attention on The Howard Stern Show where Wack Packer and frequent caller (even by Wack Pack standards) Eric the Midget has discussed his crush on her; going so far as to call her mother several times and write a (as of 2008, unpublished) children's book in which he marries her. During Eric the Midget's first in-studio appearance on November 3, 2008; she proved herself to be a good sport on the subject and made a surprised visit to meet him. She said that fans would approach her during live appearances to tell her of the mentions on the show. She turned down a dinner date request from Eric, saying her boyfriend wouldn't like it.

American Idol
DeGarmo took part in the third season of American Idol in 2004, finishing second after a close race with winner Fantasia Barrino. DeGarmo was known for her ability to perform songs with ease at such a young age.

She started off as the first contestant to perform in the top 32, and was the second voted into the finals, after eventual winner Fantasia Barrino. However, she ended up in the bottom 3 in three of the first five weeks. Surprisingly, starting from the top 7, she never got into the bottom 3 or 2, gradually becoming one of the front runners in the competition following the elimination of Jennifer Hudson and LaToya London.

Music
Diana DeGarmo performs for sailors during a United Service Organization (USO) show aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Persian Gulf. December 29, 2005.DeGarmo released a single, "Dreams," on June 29, 2004. The song was co-written by songwriter Chris Braide who also co-wrote "This Is the Night" for Clay Aiken. It includes two other songs: her version of "I Believe" co-written by former Idol contestant Tamyra Gray and a remake of Melissa Manchester's "Don't Cry Out Loud".

DeGarmo's debut album, titled Blue Skies, was released on December 7, 2004, to opening week sales of 47,000. The album came in at #52 in the Billboard chart. As of October 2008, sales are at 167,000 copies. Her single "Emotional" again co-written by Chris Braide, Desmond Child and Andreas Carlsson, peaked at #54 on the Mediabase Pop Chart.

DeGarmo appeared on the soundtrack for the 2005 Disney movie Ice Princess with the song "Reaching for Heaven", written by Desmond Child.

DeGarmo began recording a pop/R&B album in 2007, however she backed out of the project after it took a detour she did not want to take. After filming CMT's Gone Country in late 2007, DeGarmo decided to return to her country roots and relocated to Nashville. She is now signed to John Rich's production company and currently recording a country-pop album in Nashville. The song "Right Back Where We Ended", written by DeGarmo with Keith Stegall and Shanna Crooks for Gone Country, will be included on the album.

At a CMT Festival, DeGarmo performed several songs that are expected to be included on her sophomore album: "Mr. Right", "Thank You" and her Gone Country song "Right Back Where We Ended." DeGarmo also released a song called "Better With Time" on her official music MySpace page.

Musical Theatre
As a child, DeGarmo performed in productions of Annie and Joseph and the Amazing Techicolor Dreamcoat in Atlanta, Georgia. She made her stage debut in a lead role as Maria in an American Musical Theatre of San Jose production of West Side Story in November 2005. Auditions for Hairspray and Brooklyn: The Musical followed shortly thereafter. Signing on initially for a four-month run, DeGarmo made her Broadway debut in Hairspray as nerdy character Penny Pingleton in February 2006, impressing audiences with her comedic prowess. She also performed the lead role of Brooklyn in the national tour of Brooklyn: The Musical in the summer of 2006. This production featured DeGarmo alongside one of her idols, Melba Moore. DeGarmo returned to Broadway's Hairspray in September 2006 for a second engagement of over five months, wrapping up her Hairspray stints in February 2007. She made her Carnegie Hall debut in April 2007.

DeGarmo also performed in a musical concert, In Your Dreams, in early October 2006 for a new musical said to have a similar plot to High School Musical.

Degarmo was set to star alongside Tony Award nominee Gavin Creel in the Broadway revival of Godspell at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre, but on August 19, 2008, it was announced that the show was postponed.[9]

Other activities
In late 2007/early 2008, DeGarmo has been doing television ads for the Zaxby's restaurant chain.

She also appeared as a guest voice on The Fairly OddParents "Fairy Idol" episode, as Cosmo's voice after watching "How to sing like Diana DeGarmo".

Awards and charts
DeGarmo's first single, "Dreams", debuted at #2 in record sales and went #1 on the Billboard US Singles Sales Chart.

On September 17, 2005, DeGarmo received the Horizon Award at the Georgia Music Hall Of Fame Awards ceremony. The award recognizes Georgia artists on the path to successful and lengthy careers.