19 Recordings/BNA Records artist Casey James first emerged on the national scene with his third-place run on Season 9 of American Idol, but Casey had already been making music for more than a decade when he took his mom's advice to try out for the hit series. A native of Cool, Tx, James grew up surrounded by music; both his parents played guitar and sang, as did other family members, and Casey was playing guitar and performing throughout his young adulthood.