Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Freddie McClendon of American Idol Season 23

Idol kicked off Season 23 on March 9 with Carrie Underwood joining Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan at the judges’ table.

Audition episodes will continue to air each Sunday until Hollywood Week begins.

Here’s more about Freddie.

* He’s a country artist from Greenwood, S.C., who’s now Nashville based and has studied at Belmont University there.

* And Freddie already has music out, including “Present Memories,” a nine-song album written as a tribute to his dad, who was killed in 2023.

* According to Court TV, Freddie’s dad Kenneth was killed when a jealous ex-husband crashed his Ford F250 into Kenneth McClendon’s BMW.

* McClendon had been dating the man’s ex. A jury conviceted William Ackerman Jr. of murder and he was sentenced to serve 45 years in prison.

* Freddie told Idol: “After my dad passed, I had a lot of frustration about how all the people would talk about is his death,. So I wrote an entire album called ‘Present Memories’ that told the story of his life.”

* The album dropped last June. Freddie has released two singles since — “Old Fashioned Southern Boy” and “Loving Memories” and has posted snippets of several more originals on social media.

* In a profile on Nashville Voyager, Freddie describes his sound as combining the thearicality of Freddie Mercury and David Bowie with the soul of Elvis Presley and classic country music.

* Freddie was just 10 when he was invited on state to perform with the Swingin’ Medallions at a festival in Greenville.

* And by age 13, he had formed his own band with three childhood friends.

* Freddie released his debut single in May 2024. It’s a song called “Yellow Dress” from that album dedicated to his dad.

Freddie on social media:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube