Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Cassidy Lee from The Voice Season 26

Season 26 kicked off Monday (Sept. 23) with the coaching quartet of Snoop Dogg, Michael Buble, Gwen Stefani and Reba McEntire.

Here’s more about Cassidy.

* She’s among the singers looking for redemption in a second shot at The Voice.

* She auditioned for Season 18 in 2020 and showed off a nice vocal growl during an impressive cover of Fleetwood Mac’s (Stevie Nick’s) “Gold Dust Woman.” Surprisingly, none of the coaches turned their chairs.

* The experience wasn’t absent of bright spots. Kelly Clarkson complimented Cassidy on a “really cool tone.” Nick Jonas complimented the emotion in her voice. And Cassidy, who’s email moniker was once nickjlover@, got a hug from Nick.

* Cassidy, from Jacksonville, Fla., has certainly put in her work since then, as a solo acoustic performer and as lead singer of a cover band called South of Savannah.

* She’s currently frontwoman of a band called Annie Dukes, made up of three women and a male percussionist. On Spotify, they describe their sound as “Black Sabbath meets Fleetwood Mac … a mixture of ’70s rock with ’90s rock/grunge tones” featuring three-part harmonies.

* Annie Dukes released a pair of singles in 2022, a five-song self-titled EP in 2023 and a single called “Cherry” earlier this year.

* Below, check out the hard-driving “Did I Say Yes??” It’s an anthem against sexual violence. For an even more impressive example of Cassidy’s vocals, check out the music video for “The Fog.”

* You might say the Annie Dukes are pretty busy right now. They’ve in the middle of a month-long, 17-date tour that includes dates all over the Eastern U.S.

* Cassidy’s parents owned a karate school while she was growing up in Jacksonville.

* She says she taught herself to play guitar at age 12, got some mentoring from her Aunt Angie, a blues player, and fell in love with the music of Jewel. Other early inspirations included The Beatles, LeAnn Rimes and Ed Sheeran.

Cassidy on social media:
Instagram
TikTok (Annie Dukes)
Facebook
YouTube (Annie Dukes)