Channel Star: Former CDW Employee Fights For Top Spot On 'American Idol'

The channel has a new rising star, and it isn't a hot tech startup or up-and-coming channel chief.

Former CDW employee Nick Fradiani is singing his way to the top of hit Fox TV show "American Idol," most recently voted into the singing competition's top 11 contestants.

Fradiani, 29, hails from Guilford, Conn., where he worked as a K-12 Atlantic account manager for CDW for more than three years, according to his LinkedIn profile, although it appears that he is no longer with the company.

Fradiani has been singing since he was three years old and broke onto the show with a rendition of "In Your Eyes" by Peter Gabriel, one of his favorite songs, according to his biography. He also has been on the hit NBC show "America's Got Talent" with his band, Beach Avenue.

CDW, No. 8 on the CRN SP500, has been congratulating the singing star and urging its employees and Twitter followers to vote for Fradiani on its Twitter account.

Vote for former employee to stay on !

/**/ /**/

VOTE NOW for former CDW employee to advance on . Voting open until 11 a.m. CST:

/**/ /**/

CRN reached out to CDW and Fradiani, but did not hear back from either.

Fradiani isn't the first solution provider to make it big on reality television, or even the first "American Idol" star. David Archuleta, son of Arch Consulting Group owner Jeff Archuleta, had the channel cheering as he took second place in the competition in 2008.

Other channel reality stars include Robert Herjavec, founder and CEO of global security company The Herjavec Group, who stars on "Shark Tank," and has also joined ABC's "Dancing With The Stars" as a contestant, as well as RSA's Michael Rothschild, who was part of a viral video earlier this year.

Here's an official YouTube clip of Fradiani's recent performance on "American Idol."

PUBLISHED MARCH 17, 2015