Paul McDonald on Twitter

If you want to see Paul McDonald live on Tour, get your American Idols Live tickets for the 2011 tour now!

Paul McDonald and girlfriend Nikki Reed

Paul McDonald is a finalist on American Idol season 10. Born on August 29, 1984, he has always had a passion for music and he became the vocalist of the band Hightide Blues, which name was changed to The Grand Magnolias last year. Paul’s legal name is William Paul McDonald.

Originally from Huntsville, Alabama, the 26 year old singer relocated to Nashville, Tennessee. January 27, 2011 was a date McDonald would never forget as it’s the day he received the golden ticket to Hollywood when he auditioned for the hit talent show, American Idol. He got three yes’s from judges Jennifer Lopez, Randy Jackson and Steven Tyler. He wowed the judges with his rendition of Maggie May by Rod Stewart and he also sang "Tutti Frutti," a song from 1955 by Little Richard.

He then advanced to the first part of the Hollywood Round by singing a song by Grace Potter and the Nocturnals as his first solo. For the 2nd part, he performed "Carry on Wayward Son" with other contestants as part of his group. His second solo was Landslide and in the Las Vegas round in which the theme was to do a Beatles' song, he chose to sing "Blackbird."

The young rocker made it into the Top 24 when he once again convinced the judges that he belonged in the competition by singing a song he wrote entitled “American Dreams.” With his performances and character, the fans voted for him to be a part of the final 13 he did not have to go through the wild card round. He was among the most popular ten candidates who were chosen to be a finalist by the public.

His time on twitter

Ever since he was voted into the top 13, Paul McDonald has used his official American Idol Season 10 Twitter account (@PMcDonaldai10) to personally communicate with his fans. He also used the said social networking site to promote The Grand Magnolias. And because of his incessant tweets and the support of his fans, he was able to help their self titled debut album to the third spot on iTunes Rock Albums chart. It also landed on the 43rd spot on the iTunes list of all downloaded albums.

Paul McDonald also is the first contestant on this year’s season of American Idol to obtain 50,000 followers on Twitter, which he had just created when he entered the show. He was safe for three weeks in a row while in the top 13. However, he was in the bottom 3 when he performed Elton John’s “Rocket Man”.

Paul McDonald was eliminated on the 14th of April 2011 and placed 8th on AI season 10. He was also the first male finalist to be voted off after this season saw only girls doing home from the top 13.

Paul McDonald Dating Nikki Reed

After he was eliminated, both him and Nikki Reed officially confirmed that they were an item.