The David Archuleta Syndrome

'American Idol' Reject Katie Stevens Finally Puts Connecticut On The Map


Posted 2 hrs ago by Jim Cantiello in Music

"American Idol" contestant Katie Stevens had a lofty goal on the show. In an early episode, the 17-year-old from Middlebury, Connecticut, told America she hoped to put her home state on the map.

The bubbly teen stopped by MTV News (along with fellow eliminated "Idol" Andrew Garcia) to chat about that now-famous Connecticut quote and much more.

Did you know that Katie taught herself to play the piano and the guitar? You'd never think it from her "Idol" run. "My whole thing is I had, they called it 'David Archuleta Syndrome' because David Archuleta would always go into rehearsals saying 'I can't play the piano.' And he really could!" she said. "And that was me. I was like, 'I can't do this, I'm gonna go on stage and I'm gonna mess up immediately and I'm gonna flop and not focus on my voice.' But I'm gonna play the piano with 'Let It Be' on tour."

Fans shouldn't be too surprised Katie will be covering "Let It Be" on tour. It was, after all, her best-received performance on the show. But for Stevens, that particular episode was special to her for other reasons. "I liked that week not only because it was a good performance and because it was heartfelt, but because in the [pre-performance video] packages they showed our personalities," Stevens said. "I was really upset that America sees us for literally five minutes. That's not a lot of time to connect with us."


She looks forward to connecting to fans this summer on the "American Idols Live!" tour, where she'll continue to write original songs with the hopes of heading into a recording studio later this year. (College is also on the horizon: The high school senior has been accepted into several universities but she won't be able to begin school until next January thanks to the "Idol" schedule.)

So about that whole "put Connecticut on the map" thing. Katie may not have won "Idol," but I wanted to give her the chance to say she definitely achieved her goal. As you'll see in the video below, MTV News can make dreams come true. Watch Katie literally put Connecticut "on the map!"

Are you excited to see Katie play piano on tour? What do you think of "David Archuleta Syndrome?" And how does Katie stack up with other famous Connecticutters? Leave a comment below or tweet me (and follow me!) @jambajim.