'American Idol' star Kevin Covais sings in Medford

Newsday - Long Island, NY, USA - "American Idol" alum Kevin Covais, the teen balladeer from Levittown, performed for about 700 students at Tremont Elementary School in Medford Tuesday, in a concert that rewarded the children for helping to raise the most money for a new diabetes center for their community.

Wearing jeans and blue-and-white sneakers with a light blue buttoned-down shirt and pink plaid tie, the bespectacled crooner ran through several pop tunes, including newer ones such as BBMak's "Back Here Baby" and classics like Louis Armstrong's "What a Wonderful World."

Last fall, students at the Patchogue-Medford school district's seven elementary schools held a walkathon, collecting more than $43,000, aimed at establishing a diabetes center at Brookhaven Memorial Hospital. Tremont students raised the most, more than $12,000, earning the visit from Covais.

Covais was diagnosed with diabetes at 11. Now 18, he travels the country raising awareness about the disease. Yesterday's performance coincided with Diabetes Alert Day.

After a few songs, Covais jumped down from the stage to answer questions, about his 11th-place finish in "Idol's" fifth season, how he's spent the past two years, his nickname, "Chicken Little," and his diabetes.

"How has diabetes changed your life?" one girl asked.