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• Jorge Nunez-Mendez was one of 36 contestants on season eight of the FOX reality series American Idol. Nunez-Mendez auditioned in Puerto Rico and sang in both English and Spanish. George Nunez was eliminated from the competiton on March 11, 2009 as a member of the top 13.

• Fast Facts

  1. Age at the audition: 20Official Site: Hollywood Week Hopefuls
  2. Hometown: Carolina, Puerto Rico
  3. Auditioned for the show in San Juan, Puerto Rico
  4. Sang his audition songs in both English and Spanish
  5. Spanish audition song: "My Way", made popular by singer Frank Sinatra
  6. English audition song: Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World"
  7. A USA Today article believes that Nunez-Mendez may be the strongest Latin contestantUSA Today: 12 Singers Stand Out... (February 3, 2009)

• Top 13 Performance

  • Week 1: "Never Can Say Goodbye" by The Jackson 5

• About the Accent

  During his audition, Kara DioGuardi said she felt more when Nunez-Mendez sang in his native tongue, because of pronunciation issues with his English song. Randy Jackson voted "yes" and told him to be Puerto Rican. Simon Cowell agreed, stating that they were looking for someone who had an accent, which is why they were in Puerto Rico and not Omaha.

  Upon returning to the show after auditions, while fighting for a spot in the top 12, the judges noticed his accent was gone. Jorge Nunez Mendez mentioned that he trained with a dialect coach in the months between the audition and the final rounds. After the judges told him to be proud of his heritage and of his accent. Kara DioGuardi told him that he was "born to sing," causing him to break out in tears.

  The Latin super couple Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez sent a text message to Ryan Seacrest about the performance, saying "Hey bro, just finished watching the show. This guy is really special. Please tell Jorge that Jen and I could not be prouder. We were in tears witnessing, honestly. Pure talent."E! Online: J.Lo & Marc Anthony Cry Over Idol's Jorge Nunez (March 5, 2009)

  
  

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