Anthony Fedorov

Currently: Making his stage debut as young lover Matt in the world's longest-running musical, The Fantasticks.

Hometown: As any fan of Fedorov's from his days on season four of American Idol knows, the answer to this question isn't simple. With a good-natured sigh, Fedorov explains that he considers himself a New Yorker since he came to the city so often as a teen growing up in Philadelphia. But upon prodding, he launches into the oft-told chronicle of his immigrant journey. Born and raised in the Ukraine and Russia, Fedorov arrived in America at age nine with his parents, who moved to give Anthony and his older brother a brighter future. "My brother was about to turn 18, and at the time, once you turned 18 you had to go into the army," he says. "My parents didn't want that for us, and I'll be forever grateful to them for that."

Cowell's Scowl: A fan favorite on Idol both for his ballad-friendly tenor and for the touching story of how he managed to become a singer after a tracheotomy to repair a birth defect with his windpipe, Fedorov calls the show an amazing experience—even if, looking back, he doesn't like his performances. "For some reason, I never connected with myself the way I usually do," he says of his fourth place finish. "When I got [to Hollywood] I became kind of lost. I didn't know who I was." Interestingly, some post-elimination advice from notoriously caustic judge Simon Cowell got him back on track. "Cowell said to me, 'I want to commend you on a phenomenal job handling my crap. All I'm trying to do is be that person you'll meet pretty much every step of your way who's going to try and bring you down. If you can't handle me, you have no business being in this business. You have a phenomenal voice, but both you and I know you didn't choose the right songs. So what you need to do is die down for a while, get the right songs and then you'll be incredibly successful.' I was sitting there thinking, 'Why is he telling me all this? I thought he hated my guts!'"

Worthy of Your Love: Fedorov acknowledges the skepticism that exists about the legitimacy of Idol contestants moving into other mediums. "My biggest worry was, 'Ok, I got the audition [for The Fantasticks], but was it because I can actually do this or because I'm quote-unquote 'Anthony Fedorov from American Idol'?" Eager to prove his worth but with zero acting experience, he dug in, studying the company's performances, rehearsing for three weeks and zeroing in on advice from the show's co-creator, director and his co-star, Tom Jones. "This cast is incredible and I'm trying to sponge off of them as much as I can," he says earnestly. "It's a challenge to match their energy, because they put off so much at every performance."

Matt's Where It's At: "What makes the show phenomenal is how simple it looks, but it's not simple to do," Fedorov says of The Fantasticks. "And the dialogue is brilliant. I love the part just after [my character] swordfights with El Gallo. I love that anger and passion he has: 'I'll drink and gamble. I'll grow a mustache!' To these kids, that's it. You grow a mustache and you're a man," he says with a smile. "Plus the character is me. He's cheesy and goofy and thinks he knows it all and is very romantic—basically everything that I am, except my character can't go have a drink after the show and I can."

Balancing Act: Not only is the young singer performing off-Broadway eight times a week and working on his first album, due next year, but he's also a spokesperson for the Sarcoma Foundation www.curesarcoma.org in honor of his brother, Denis, whom he lost last year to the disease. On top of that, he's in a relationship with singer/model/actress Elisa Rodriguez, whom he jokingly calls "the wife." As for rumors of a relationship with Idol winner Carrie Underwood, he says, "You know how media is. They have to make a story. Carrie and I are just friends." He'd also love to get involved with a sports franchise and open a chain of sushi restaurants. No sweat! But how does Fedorov make time for fun? "It's all about managing your time," he says intently. "While I'm young and have the strength, I gotta work my butt off to make sure I can have fun later." But he acknowledges that balance is key. "It's a beautiful thing to have that hunger to be the best, but I used to get mad at myself all the time. When my brother passed away, it made me see what's important. I still have the same purpose, but I think I approach it a little more patiently. Look, at this point in my life, I've performed in front of millions of people, I've gone on a tour around the country and now I'm in New York doing an amazing show. That's not bad!"