Ace Young has come a long way since his time on American Idol. He has made it all the way to the stages of Broadway and will play the part of Kenickie in Grease for his Broadway debut. He is joining a young but talented cast that includes Derek Keeling as Danny, Ashley Spencer as Sandy, Will Blum as Roger, Jose Restrepo as Sonny, Ryan Patrick Binder as Doody, Robyn Hurder as Marty, Janine DiVita as Rizzo , Lindsay Mendez as Jan and Kirsten Wyatt as Frenchy. He will also coincidentally be joining another member of American Idol's season 5 members, Taylor Hicks. Hicks ended up winning that season of American Idol and plays the part of Teen Angel in Grease. Young starts his role on September 9.



Young was born and raised in Colorado and started singing when he was nine. He has four brothers and is also interested in athletics as well as music. He tried to pursue a career in music himself before trying out for American Idol. He performed Westlife's “Swear It Again” during his audition and swiftly got a ticket to Hollywood. During the show, he showed that he has a wide range of musical ability by excelling at performing songs ranging from Kenny Rogers to Michael Jackson. He finished seventh in the competition.

After Idol, he helped write the Daughtry song “It's Not Over,” which garnered him a Grammy nomination. He also released his own self-titled album, writing seven of the songs himself. Other writers include the famous Desmond Child. The album made it to number 160 on the Billboard 200 chart. With his talent being added to the cast, Grease tickets will become even more popular than they are now.

Set in a high school and featuring top music, Grease is the perfect musical for a young musician to join. The story is about a couple, Danny and Sandy, who meet during the summer in the 1950s. They say their goodbyes when the summer ends, but soon Sandy unknowingly moves to Danny's hometown and starts attending his high school. Danny tries to keep up his cool guy reputation as one of the “T-Birds” and ends up hurting innocent Sandy in the process. The T-Bird's female counterparts, The Pink Ladies, hesitantly take Sandy under their wing and introduce her to the world of greasers. As Sandy and Danny sort out their feelings, a television dance program chooses their high school as a location for their next show. The couple goes through more hardships before learning they have to compromise a little to make their relationship work.

The musical features some of the most well-known music on Broadway and is the perfect place to showcase a voice like Young's. Songs like “Summer Nights,” “We Go Together,” “Those Magic Changes” and “Greased Lightning” have kept audiences singing along for years. The musical inspired a hit movie starring John Travolta and Olivia Newton John in 1978. The newest revival also stared the winners of a reality show the NBC reality show, Grease: You're The One That I Want!, but both have since been replaced by other participants on the same reality show.