Anthony Fedorov

Biography: A vocal performer and American Idol star with one of the more unusual and remarkable backgrounds among the contestants on that series, Anthony Fedorov was born Anatoliy Fedorov in the Ukraine, and developed a growth in his throat at four months old that required a series of complicated and difficult surgeries -- so complicated that one operation pushed him into a coma, required an emergency tracheotomy, and prompted a physician to predict that the boy would never speak. Defying these predictions, Fedorov not only spoke clearly but sharpened and honed his singing voice to an exemplary level; he moved with his family to the U.S. at nine, and grew up in the Philadelphia suburb of Trevose, PA. Fedorov was then selected as one of the competitors in Idol's fourth season (2005) He worked his way up to fourth-place finalist, but judges subsequently voted him out.