View Comments in 'Video Footage'

"Follow your dreams"
Posted by Jamie from Tennessee (Fri, Feb 3, 2006)

Zachary, First off great name, as its my little boys name also. Next and mostly I want to congratulate you for attempting something you believe in. It?s never wrong to have dreams and hopes. And this country of ours would be a lot better off if more people had dreams and moved in a direction to live that dream and spent less time trying to demean or sabotage the dreams of others. I don?t know for sure where your dreams are or where you wish to take them, but let me explain my past and me briefly. I reside in the middle of what most people know as the ?Bible Belt?. I moved here in the early 90?s after a career in the military because of my love of the mountains. I had two places in mind, one was Denver and the other was here in Knoxville. I finally choose this location because it put me closest to my daughter yet provided me the experience of the mountains. I began work for the local government as a firefighter and then went on to paramedic school. I tested and moved up through the ranks rather quickly. Some o

"Follow your dreams (cont)"
Posted by Jamie from Tennessee (Fri, Feb 3, 2006)

Zachary, (cont.) Some of my success was do to hard work and knowledge and the other was because of being in the right place at the right time. I achieved the rank of Captain in what by most standards would be considered very early in my career. In my off hours I work part time with the University Police during basketball games, concerts and other special events. As you can see clearly, both of my occupations are major male testosterone drive careers, yet in March of 2005 I traveled to Montreal, Canada and realized my dream come true. After being off from work for a month to recover from surgery I returned to full duty in both careers. My transition for the most part had been seamless and without personal attacks or any other problems that I can speak of. And remember, this is the ?Bible Belt?. I have realized my dream and I?m sure you can do the same. Map out your dream, expect there to be setbacks, and don?t let people to tell you ?it took a lot of courage? to get there, tell them you were only being who you

"Follow your dreams (cont.)"
Posted by Jamie from Tennessee (Fri, Feb 3, 2006)

Zachary, (cont.) ... tell them you were only being who you are. I believe from my personal experience that ones success or failure in obtaining their dream is based mostly on how you act and react to others negative comments or their lack of science and education. Again, I wish you the best of luck and YOU CAN do it!!! Jamie (Undisclosed Email Address) (Undisclosed Email Address)

"Simon sucks!"
Posted by PrettyInPink from Seattle, Washington (Tue, Feb 7, 2006)

Simon is totally bias, and he seriously sucks. I mean, He said some very homophobic things, and he was really rude to Zachary. I mean, I didn't particularly like Zachary's singing voice, but it was still really bias and rude.

"You sounded great!"
Posted by Lisa from Wisconsin (Tue, Feb 7, 2006)

Zach, I hope you don't lose any sleep over this competition. The judges were looking for someone the general population would like... unfortunately, that doesn't count transgendered people. So long as shows like Jerry Springer make TG people out to be Hulk Hogan in a dress, we will continue to see faces like Simon's. BTW... I think you sounded great, and I would know a little about this. I'm a transsexual in a all TG band in the Chicago area. Keep your dreams alive!

"Courageous to be who you are"
Posted by Jami from Chicago, IL (Fri, Feb 17, 2006)

Zach, I feel that you are very courageous to be who you are and not live your life the way others want. If you did, it would not be YOUR life. You have a very good singing talent, and I hope that you continue to pursue it. Also, I agree with everything that Lisa from WI said; she and I are in the same all TG band. My very best wishes to you always. Take care Zach, please be, and ALWAYS stay, safe and well. Huggs, jami

"Simon is evil"
Posted by Ward Fisher from us (Mon, Feb 20, 2006)

Zachary went to make his dream come true,and Simon insulted him. Simon is truly Damndable!

"Sorry to say..."
Posted by AzraeL from NJ (Wed, Feb 22, 2006)

Listening to the primary clip here? You've got a nasty twang to your voice, and though it can eb overcome with a little work (beauty of youth... you suck! :-) ), I have to agree: for a vocal competitino, having the ragged edge - especially using a song done by a melodic performer - makes it VERY difficult. I am a T*, so I'm not trying to be nasty - but makign a suggestion. Body language is decidedly feminine, maybe a LITTLE androgynous, but the voice is rough. PRactice more. It's not intonations, not melody, not vocabulary; just the rough edge, which will likely fade as puberty passes. Meantime, look up Melanie Anne Philips ("Melanie speaks" - very good for pointers at your stage... That's about all you need, that and time for the voicebox to finish growing...) And maybe look into http://www.femimage.com/video.htm for more voice-related coaching, and try again. BTW - "Jagged Little Pill" or similar might be better choice - Alannis Morisette has a raspier voice, so it makes for a different comparison. Now, as

"Sorry to say... (Cont'd.)"
Posted by AzraeL from NJ (Wed, Feb 22, 2006)

Now, as to playing "The Crying game" on the show.... THAT was cruel. But to be fair, there is a lot of misunderstanding, and volunteering the fact that you're transitioning is NOT a good idea. Keep the mystery, keep the questioning, and let them figure it out. Be a lady! Have some mystery, some separation between yourself and everyone else. And make them WORK to know you. Be a challenege. It will help you in MANY ways. You're in that "teen" stage still - a little gawky, awkward, etc. It will pass (all too soon, you'll realize) and you'll be an adult, and a beautiful one at that. But the voice gets us pegged (read, clocked) faster than anything else... I can't make any reccomendations - not a doctor - but if you've done the research, you already know what to do. Good luck! Grow into the heartbreaker you're meant to be... :-) -AzraeL

"Zach"
Posted by lynnura from Malaysia (Thu, Feb 23, 2006)

It takes a lot of guts to do what zach did...it takes a lot of guts and a true warrior may do what zach did...and as someone who has similiar attributes to zach I am really proud...you a heard and seen half way around the world....TGs are real and they are a fact of life...

"Thank God Your Here."
Posted by Kellie from Los Angeles (Thu, Feb 23, 2006)

Zack your awesome ,Use this as a stepping stone for bigger and better dreams don't let criticisms STOP YOU!!! God didn't make a mistake he made a miracle..America would be so boring if we were all the same.

"$"
Posted by Simon from NY (Thu, Jun 29, 2006)

You audition dressed in a woman's crop top, tight blue jeans with a studded belt and high heeled boots and sing the Whitney Houston song "Queen of the Night" and think redneck america will buy your cd? American idol is about $ not open mindedness and you weren't a product they could hope to make major money off of.

"DONT GIVE UP"
Posted by Amber from Canada (Wed, Jul 5, 2006)

Zach, i think you are so freaking cool! I read the article about you in teen people magazine and agree with you completly, Simon is way too prejudice! I think you owned that song and should have made it to the next round. Who cares about Simon! I would like to c him try and attempt to sing that song as well as u did. I also agree that Simon is a ******** and i would totally like to him him too and probably so does the rest of America! I think you should audition next year and dont give up. love you so much, ur biggest fan, Amber

"great"
Posted by serkan from istanbul (Mon, Feb 26, 2007)

ohh my god..you are great..really.. ;)

"thank you, excellent site!"
Posted by thank you, excellent site from Tokyo (Wed, Apr 18, 2007)

thank you, excellent site!

"Zach"
Posted by Morgan from Ohio (Sun, Aug 19, 2007)

Zach baby, i think about you all the time, i want you soooo bad, i would fukc you in your a$$ sooo hard, i want you, please respond to me, i actually am in love with you, it might look like im just horny but i am in love