Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: James Wolpert, 22, of Lancaster, Pa., auditioned with Jack White’s “Love Interrupted.” The coaches were slow to turn around. But when James hit an a cappella segment in the middle of the performance, all three male coaches spun their chairs. A big note at the end enticed Christina Aguilera to do so as well. Blake Shelton praised the character in his voice and called him the “complete vocalist.” But he opted to join Team Adam.

James Wolpert of Team Adam on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

His background: After high school, James actually went to Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh to pursue a degree in art. Then he “fell in love with the idea of singing. Singing is exhilarating. It’s transcendent. And that’s ultimately what I wanted to do with my life.” So he put college on hold to try a career in music. He started busking on street corners for tips while taking a job at an Apple store in the Pittsburgh area. He’s hoping The Voice will help him turn music into his full-time job.

On picking Adam: “I was drawn to Adam because he seems like a very genuine guy,” James said in a conference call interview the day after his audition aired. “He’s someone I definitely want to work with based on the genres he’s into, which are pop and rock, because I’m into those genres too. And I think the experience he’s had, like working with Maroon 5, I think it was a good fit. It’s mostly a gut feeling decision right there when you’re on stage.”

What the show didn’t show: The 2009 graduate of nearby Lampeter-Strasburg High School is actually participating in his second televised singing competition. Back in 2008, he appeared on the ABC reality/talent show called “High School Musical: Get in the Picture” and finished in the top 10. He had already played the lead in the Ephrata Playhouse’s version of “High School Musical,” as well as a number of other productions, by that point. At that point, singing was a relatively new passion for James, his mother told the Intelligencer Journal in Lancaster, and he had joined a band called Mr. Smith. As for his own music, check out the seven songs James has posted to ReverbNation here.

Quote: James said the audition feedback from the judges was “an ego boost. But I don’t think that’s anything you can rely on to take you through the competition. I think it’s best to be as modest as possible, because there’s a lot of amazing people in the competition right now. And anything can happen.”

On iTunes: Just his Voice performance.

Keeping up with James: On Twitter: @JamesPWolpert — Facebook — YouTube

James Wolpert with Bailey Purvis, performing “Bleeding Love” on ABC reality competition in 2008

James Wolpert, “Use Somebody” cover