Justin Guarini’s career took off quickly after he finished second on the first season of “American Idol” in 2002. For a while, he seemed headed toward the kind of Hollywood success he had imagined. Then, just a year later, his record label dropped him, and the future he’d counted on suddenly looked very different.
Guarini, whose new book is called “Center Stage Confidence: How to Own Your Story and Command Any Room,” now sees that setback as a turning point. Failure, he says, can teach you a great deal. At the time, though, he didn’t see it that way.
In the book, he recalls finding out about RCA’s decision while watching a “Weekend Update” segment on “Saturday Night Live.” He describes feeling stunned as his expectations about fame and success gave way to a painful sense of loss. For months, he says, he dwelled on what had happened, withdrew from people and struggled to recognize himself. Those close to him began to worry.
Guarini had reason to think his early success would last. He released a self-titled album in 2003, which reached the top 20 on the Billboard 200, and starred with Kelly Clarkson in the film “From Justin to Kelly.” The movie was poorly received, and criticism of both the film and Guarini’s performance added to the strain as his career slowed.
He describes that period as isolating and says there were times he didn’t want to get out of bed, look in the mirror or go anywhere. Eventually, though, he began to notice that people still valued him—and that his life had meaning beyond chart positions, votes, followers or money. He returned to something he genuinely loved: performing.
At first, that meant singing wherever he could, from state fairs to gala events. Those smaller gigs helped open the door to other work. After releasing a second album independently in 2005, he took on television roles and made his Broadway debut in “Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown” in 2010. He later appeared in “American Idiot,” “Romeo and Juliet” and “Wicked.” In 2015, he began playing Lil’ Sweet in Diet Dr Pepper commercials.
Looking back, Guarini thinks the difficult stretch pushed him to grow in ways that might not have happened if his early fame had continued uninterrupted. He says learning to sit with disappointment, keep moving and stay open to change eventually led him toward opportunities he hadn’t expected.
Nearly 25 years after “American Idol,” his main lesson is fairly simple: keep going. Life and work have their ups and downs, he says, and persistence matters. Doing good work and treating people well can help prepare you for the next opportunity when it comes around.
