West Philly man chasing lifelong dream on American Idol

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- The countdown is on to the kickoff of the new season of American Idol, which premieres Sunday night on 6abc. And this year, there is no shortage of contestants from right here in the Philadelphia area.

We introduce you to Dennis Lorenzo from West Philadelphia.

"I started at age 16, my grandmother and grandfather bought me a guitar," he said.

And they've been inseparable since.

While he was a student at Norristown High School, Dennis says he could see his dream and he could taste it.

"Absolutely - every bit. Every last drop," he said.

And he was hardly afraid to chase it, moving first to Atlanta, then Los Angeles - making every sacrifice for a shot.

"I slept in a tent for a few months and lived in a storage unit, slept in my friend's car," he said.

And now, here he is standing before some of the biggest names in the biz.

"Man the experience was crazy, it was riveting to say the least. That part was like living the dream," he said.

He finally had a shot to perform for his idol - Katy Perry.

"And to think that I was in front of her singing, doing what I love to do," said Dennis.

However, his guitar had seen better days.

"It was insane. After I was done performing, they were talking about the hole in the guitar," he said.

The hole was left behind by an accidental drop, but that wasn't about to stop Dennis, who is now one inch from that dream.

"This is going to go down in history - this is an epic guitar," he said.

Dennis, who is now 26-years-old and a father, said this big moment and the big chance at that golden ticket has him thinking a lot about his own mother, a singer who got him to join in a duet or two over the years.

And if mom looks and sounds familiar, Roslyn King Lewis' version of the Etta James classic "At Last" went viral, with lyrics tweaked to celebrate the Eagles super bowl victory last month.

"It might be Philly's year - you don't know," said Dennis.

And we will know if it's Dennis' year on Sunday, March 11 when American Idol premieres at 8 p.m. right here on 6abc.

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