In August 2004, acting upon his then-girlfriend's suggestion, Maroulis traveled to Washington DC to audition for Season 4 of the television show American Idol. For the 2005 season, Idol producers changed the age range of contestants from 16-24 to 16-28. Along with Bo Bice (also from Season 4) and Taylor Hicks (winner of Season 5), Maroulis was one of the first contestants to benefit from this change. Maroulis and Bice are also notable for being among the first contestants to compete using the rock idiom.
On April 27, 2005, Maroulis was eliminated from American Idol after he performed Nickelback's "How You Remind Me" during the 2000s music round. Less than a week before his elimination, Maroulis's pre-Idol band, Pray For The Soul Of Betty, announced the May 10 release of their self-titled debut on their label, Baby Julius. Maroulis was featured on the American Idol Season 4: The Showstoppers compilation with "My Funny Valentine". His rendition of the Queen classic "Bohemian Rhapsody" also earned him the praise of judges, including that of the usually harsh Simon Cowell. At the personal invitation of Queen's guitarist Brian May, Maroulis later recorded a studio version of the track for Killer Queen: A Tribute to Queen, which was released on August 9, 2005 on Queen's label, Hollywood Records.
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