Where is matt giraud now

One fan he knows of, "screams 'Matt G! Matt G! She's two-years-old, and part of the reason the Kalamazooan-turned-"American Idol" had moved back to Michigan. Giraud, who'll be greeting the new year with a dueling-piano show at FireKeepers Casino Dec.

It was a really tough decision," he said from his new home base in Battle Creek. They've been together for nine months. She's got two beautiful children from a previous marriage, they've taken kindly to me, we've been going to Disney together When Matt Giraud returned home to Kalamazoo in after finishing in the top five of American Idol Season 8, he was expecting a celebration of music and a few speeches. But for some reason, the last thing he expected to do was perform at his own party.

I wasn't even gonna sing. Played with the Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, people at Arcadia. I mean this was life-changing craziness from playing down at Zazio's at the Radisson and begging my ten friends to show up," he says. But he did. It was a fitting moment for a guy who was no stranger to giving the people what they wanted through music. He wasn't even planning to audition for the competition until he heard that a colleague was taking his daughter to Louisville, Kentucky to try out. Giraud was raised in Ypsilanti and graduated from Western Michigan University.

He was working as a dueling piano player at the now-closed Monaco Bay Piano Bar in Kalamazoo in when he auditioned for American Idol. He currently lives in Richland Township with his fiancee and child. Giraud said his appearances on American Idol helped launch his music career in a big way. He was playing at smaller venues in the Kalamazoo area before he went on American Idol, he said, but when he returned he was able to draw larger crowds.

Matt's back! Giraud, who switched between piano and drums throughout the performance, performed such songs as John Legend's "Save Room," The Fray's "How to Save a Life" and Ray Charles' "Georgia on My Mind" -- the song that drew a standing ovation from three of the four "Idol" judges last week. Giraud agrees with a laugh. Matt Giraud. American Idol. Aleena Hamilton. Live at River City.

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