Background
He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but lived in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
He was born in Cleveland, Ohio, but lived in Shaker Heights, Ohio.
Savol made it into the final five on Idol and then became the eighth contestant to be voted off the show, on May 4, after singing George Benson"s version of "On Broadway" and Brian McKnight"s "Everytime You Go Away" during a dual-themed week of songs written by Leiber and Stoller and songs presently on the Billboard charts. During his run on the show, Savol was affectionately dubbed "Scotty the Body" by Idol host Ryan Seacrest. The fact that Savol outlasted many singers who were often considered superior to him (such as Nikko Smith, Nadia Turner, Constantine Maroulis, Jessica Sierra and Anwar Robinson) led many commentators to speculate that a portion of Savol"s "fan base" actually consisted of people who were attempting to destroy the credibility of by voting for someone they considered the worst finalist.
Other people suggested Savol was supported by Christian voters because Savol frequently thanked God after his performances, or by voters who saw him as an underdog or "regular Joe" due to his lack of stereotypical popular star looks.
Often, he would draw comparisons to actors Mark Addy and Kevin James.