On this episode I talked with Jalen Harris about when he knew he wanted to perform on stage and sing for living, becoming the well rounded performer he is today, auditioning for American Idol at age 15 and what made him want to audition, his experience on American Idol and what he learned from being on the show, his audition for the National Tour of The Lion King, getting cast in the ensemble and as a Simba understudy on his first National Tour and then becoming lead Simba on the tour, how he brought himself to the character of Simba on stage, why The Lion King is the longest running Disney show on Broadway, the current tour he’s on: Ain’t Too Proud where he portrays Eddie Kendricks from The Temptations, stepping into the role of a real life person and finding the balance between playing that real life person accurately while making the role in the show his own, the most fascinating thing he’s learned about Eddie Kendricks and The Temptations from doing research from the role, singing and dancing simultaneously, and much more!
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Jalen is an accomplished singer, actor, and model, first being discovered on season ten of Fox’s “American Idol.” Jalen has been cast and seen for various television programs, national publications, and films like Fist Fight (Warner Bros) and most recently Jordan Peele’s LoveCraft Country (HBO). He is a former Simbastandby actor for the Tony Award winning and critically acclaimed Disney’s The Lion King North American Broadway Tour. Jalen is also a latin/rnb crossover recording artist with records produced by Grammy Award winning producer/engineer Mack Woodward (Beyonce).