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American Idol's Stefano Langone, Nearly Killed By Drunk Driver, Has DUI Of His Own

Richard Read

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Richard Read is a car writer, covering marketing, technology, social media, and other auto industry topics for High Gear Media. With a background in... More

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Stefano Langone

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We're not going to sit here and pretend to hang on every word that drops from the mouths of American Idol contestants. We're not even going to pretend that we've watched a full episode of the show. But when it comes to competitors hiding portions of their past...well, we're all ears.

During his audition with TyLoJack, current AI contestant Stefano Langone spoke at length about being critically injured in a 2009 car accident, which was caused by a drunk driver. It was a moving, tearful 60-seconds -- though in all fairness, Langone's recovery was pretty remarkable. Also in fairness, the boy has a serious set of pipes. Check it fast, before Rupert Murdoch writes out a takedown notice in his own blood:

There's one thing missing from that audition tape, though. What Stefano failed to reveal was that a year after the car accident, he was nabbed for DUI himself. That's not what we'd call an act of hypocrisy -- after all, Stefano didn't go out of his way to bash drunk drivers -- but you have to admit, it seems pretty relevant to the situation. A sin of omission, some might call it.

Worse, by hiding that fact, Stefano missed a golden opportunity to talk about redemption -- a theme that the American public eats up with a spoon. And as we understand it, the American public is exactly who determines the winner of American Idol. If Langone is in it to win it, the boy ought to milk that backstory for all it's worth.

[PopEater via Eric]