Background
Her mother, Joan, is a realtor at Revue Economique/MAX in her home town and her father, Peter, owns Chase Equipment in New Milford. She sang Dusty Springfield"s hit "Son of a Preacher Manitoba" in the semi-finals.
Her mother, Joan, is a realtor at Revue Economique/MAX in her home town and her father, Peter, owns Chase Equipment in New Milford. She sang Dusty Springfield"s hit "Son of a Preacher Manitoba" in the semi-finals.
She is a 1997 graduate of Brookfield High School. The buxom DeMato was heavily featured in coverage of the early rounds of, including the showing of drama with fellow singer Kimberly Caldwell during the "Hollywood" phase. In the finals, she sang "Flashdance.
What a Feeling" and "Where Did Our Love Go", before being voted off on March 26, 2003 after a rendition of Faith Hill"s "Breathe".
After the show, she had some success on the concert tour, singing "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera. She also recorded a cover of "At Last" by Etta James on the 2 Love Songs Civil Defense. DeMato"s versions of these songs were well regarded by fans and reviewers.
However, her brief musical career peaked with the Civil Defense and the concert tour, and further success eluded her. Later in 2003, she had a short stint as a judge for the Oxygen Network"s show Meow television She was unable to secure a recording contract with an established company, but did record one song, "Let lieutenant Rain", with a company called Somme Music - an Internet storefront marketing that one song.
Reaction to this song was mixed: some liked the vocals and also the music, while others had a problem with the composition and the negative tone of some of the lyrics (written by the head of Somme Music).
Number further songs were recorded. Living in her home town of Brookfield, and working once more as a cosmetologist, she has appeared as a singer on an occasional basis, mostly in Connecticut. Between July 22 and August 2, 2008 Julia and former Idol contestants Trenyce, RJ Helton, Frenchie Davis, and Rickey Smith performed at the Razz Room in San Francisco.
Vonzell Solomon, Constantine Maroulis, and David Hernandez also appeared in the Razz Room from August 5–16.
On June 18, 2009, Julia DeMato began hosting a 12-week "Summer Idol" Karaoke event at Rowley"s Tavern, a local Irish style public located in Norwalk, Connecticut. Julia starts off the evening singing a song, then offering color commentary and announcing upcoming singers.
Other appearances in Connecticut include singing the National Anthem at the Thompson International Speedway at a National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing event. On April 15, 2010 Demato and Idol alums Ace Young, Diana DeGarmo, Jorge Núñez, and RJ Helton lent a helping hand to hungry New Yorkers by delivering food with City Harvest.