Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Justin Whisnant, 28, of Bearden, Okla., auditioned with Cole Swindell’s “Ain’t Worth the Whiskey.” A very strong country vocal enticed a chair turn from Adam Levine early in the performance. Blake Shelton eventually turned as well. Adam called Justin “ridiculously good;” Blake talked about a musical relationship that could extend beyond the show. Justin joined Team Blake.

His background: He grew up in a town of 200-300 people and was raised by his grandparents. And since his grandfather was the sound “guy” for their church, he would set up the equipment in the front yard “and we would have a little family concert. I feel privileged to be influenced by that,” Justin says. He started singing in grade school, traveling around to various churches. After high school, he took a job in the oil fields. “I made a good living doing it. But I worked six days a week, hot in the summer, freezing in the wintertime. It completely consumed my life.” He tried doing music, too, until his boss gave him an ultimatum: music or work. He chose music. He plays in a band called Cold Water County and is looking for The Voice to take his music to the next level.

What the show didn’t show:

On iTunes: Just his performance from The Voice.

Keeping up with Justin:
Twitter: @JustinWhisnant
Website (Cold Water County)
Facebook (Justin)
Facebook (Cold Water County)
YouTube

“Whiskey”

“Wagon Wheel (Darius Rucker cover)