American singer and actress Diana Nicole DeGarmo was born on June 16, 1987, in Birmingham, Alabama, and grew up in Snellville, Georgia. Her early career began with stage roles in Annie and Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, and she gained national attention as the runner‑up of American Idol Season 3 in 2004, where she performed the single "Dreams" that peaked at number 14 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 2 in Canada. After signing with RCA Records, she released her debut studio album Blue Skies on December 7, 2004, which debuted at number 52 on the Billboard 200; the album sold 168,000 copies by fall 2008. She followed with two extended plays, Unplugged in Nashville (2009) and Live to Love (2012), the latter featuring the single "Good Goodbye". In 2019, she released her second album Gemini through Dixie Rose Entertainment, and in 2020 she streamed a live concert of the album that earned the 2020 BroadwayWorld Award for Best Streamed Concert. DeGarmo has also sustained a prolific theatre career, appearing in Broadway productions such as Hairspray, national tours of Brooklyn: The Musical and 9 to 5, and a 2024 regional role in Little Shop of Horrors. Her work has earned her recognition as a Muscular Dystrophy Association ambassador and multiple USO tour appearances.
