Justin Guarini Announces His Engagement To Girlfriend Reina Capodici
Justin Guarini, second runner up to Kelly Clarkson on the first season of American Idol recently announced that he is set to marry his girlfriend of little more than a year Reina Capodici who is from his hometown of Doylestown, PA.
Press Release (PressBurner) Feb 17, 2009 - Los Angelos, CA -- On the heels of Clay Aiken becoming a father, another American Idol alum, Justin Guarini (AKA Justin Bell) has announced on his radio show on blogtalkradio that he asked his girlfriend Reina Capodici to be his wife. Many had high hopes for Guarini whose debut self-titled album bombed. He hasn't really been heard from since he decided to start airing his own show on blogtalkradio aptly named The Justin Guarini Show. And during the last Season of American Idol he was the co-host of two shows about American Idol on the TV Guide Network. On many occassions I have tried to listen to Guarini's talk show, but it is so boring I could barely get through the first ten minutes of each of his broadcasts. Add to that the continuos butt-kissing Olivia Wilder who also is a blogtalkradio host who primarily interviews soap stars and it makes for one horrible show. I guess for the few fans that still follow Guarini, just the sound of his voice is enough to make them swoon, but from listening to the show you can tell that it is poorly put together and sounds more like a frat party than a talk show. There are shows on blogtalkradio that are done by many unknowns that blow his show out of the water...but after all he is a reality television star so apparently people want to hear what he has to say. I can't say I'm one of them.
Recently I spoke to an amazingly well known source who worked with Justin on his first album who asked to remain anonymous. He felt that "Justin Guarini is very talented, but there are a lot of talented singers who don't make it . His (Justin's) problem in my view is that his work ethic is not the greatest. He expects things to come naturally to him, he doesn't think he has to work hard for them."
So who is Reina Capodici? After a little digging (God bless the Internet and inside sources) She is a 27 year old native of Doylestown, PA who is the mother of a four year old little girl Lola from a previous relationship with another musician Jesse Pastore (apparently she has a thing for musicians...who can blame her?). At one time, Justin dated Reina's sister...apparently that didn't work out. Capodici's mother was also one of Guarini's teachers in Junior High in Doylestown, PA. From all accounts Reina Capodici is a very nice young lady, I haven't talked to one person who had many negative things to say about her. That's pretty amazing given that people live to tear others down. I think the worst thing they said about her was that she was at one time on welfare while she went to school and to most of us that would be more admirable than embarresssing. Going to school to better your life is an amazing thing to accomplish, especially with a young child to take care of and juggling a long-distance relationship with Guarini who lives primarily in LA. In one report written by The Philadelphia Inquirers Michael Klein, he stated that Capodici was a writer. Friends, however, say that she was going to school to be a hairstylist and to the best of their knowledge is not a writer at all. Your guess is as good as mine people. I tried to find anything published under her name and came up empty.
So, if Justin Guarini had never appeared on American Idol would anyone care about him or his impending marriage? The answer to that is a HUGE NO! For some reason the American public is infatuated with knowing what is going on in the lives of ex-reality TV stars, even the ones whose careers are limited to Disney World, The Hard Rock Cafe and Kenny Horowitz's Bar Mitvah in Altoona, PA. Also, according to OK! Magazine, Guarini appeared in the show Gone Country, sorry I missed that one...but I think most of us did actually. After checking out Justin's website at www.justinguarini.com, I noticed that there is a number to call if you want to book him. I could not find that information on the websites of Carrie Underwood, Clay Aiken, or Kelly Clarkson.
According to Guarini he and Capodici are set to marry in a large ceremony in late June 2009, possibly in Disneyworld where he proposed to her. The guest list they say is in the area of 600 people, which is about the same number of albums Guarini has sold to date.
This marriage could lead to the kind of publicity that Guarini needs to remind people that he's still alive. Regardless of his floundering career and some negative feedback I received about him from various famous sources, I personally wish him all the best. Marriage is never easy...not even for a reality TV star.
So instead of becoming an international music superstar he has become the host of a third rate radio show on blogtalkradio, a co-host of a show about American Idol on the TV Guide Channel (which I have been told he HATES doing) and soon will be a husband and step-father. I'm sure the day he came in second on American Idol he didn't think his life would take this turn. But maybe it's more important to be a husband and father than it is to be a superstar. And honestly, I've never heard of Justin doing a Chris Brown on Reina Capodici. That's at least good news. And you never know...there may be room for a back up singer to tour with Kelly Clarkson when her new album launches in March 2009. Justin, do you still have her on speed dial?
