Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Brandon Chase, 20, of Arlington, Texas, performed Hunter Hayes’ “Wanted.” Blake Shelton spun his chair early in the performance, followed by Cee Lo. In terms of country music, Blake said Brandon sounded like “the real deal.”

Brandon Chase landed a spot on Team Blake on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Background: Brandon calls himself “very driven,” then tells us he graduated from college at age 17, then took off for Nashville “just to get out there and soak up the experience of country music.” He says he plays as many venues as he can, but gets paid little if anything to do so because he’s an unknown. We also learned that he had a difficult time as an infant. Two days after his birth, he started bleeding internally and wound up in intensive care. His mother says he stopped breathing 64 times. A month and a half later, he had recovered.

On choosing Blake: “Being a country artist, I kind of went into it with Blake kind of the main thought, but I told myself I wouldn’t make a decision until I was on the stage. … But when Blake said, ‘There are a lot of country artists that come up on stage and they’re just trying to be country,’ and then he said, ‘but country music is in your blood, like it’s just — it’s you. It’s real.’ That’s what really sealed the deal for me. I just had to choose him.”

What the show didn’t show: In a conference call interview the day after his audition aired, Brandon said he was very shy as a youngster, and that’s what led him to music. “I wanted to do something to share with other people my relationship with God, and I just didn’t really know how I was going to do that, because I wasn’t comfortable talking in front of people.” Then an opportunity came up to join the church band. Brandon stared out as a drummer, then began singing. He graduated from high school at age 15, according to his Facebook bio; then completed the master certificate program for songwriting though Berklee. As for music, he released a 10-song album called “Take Me Home” in 2008, then became the front man for a Christian band called the All Out Band that released a five-track EP in 2010. Neither of those albums seems to be available now. But Brandon’s two latest EPs — “Unplugged” from 2011 and “Country Enough” from 2012 — are. Make sure to check out “Lemonade Sunday,” which he wrote, below. Though he’s been performing at pretty much any venue that would have him for the past few years, Brandon told dfw.com that he never considered trying out for a singing show until he was approached about auditioning for The Voice. And he says it’s the only one he would consider participating in because of its focus on helping young performers improve and “unknown artists become known.” As for Blake, Brandon says he’s hoping his coach helps him with the ability “to really tell a story through a song.”

Quote: “The audition was really crazy. It’s like you’re preparing yourself the whole time. But when that door finally opens and your feet start moving toward the stage, it’s like, ‘Oh, wow, I thought I was ready for this. But maybe not.’ I got my nerves under control and started the song, and Blake turned around on the first verse. I really don’t know what happened after that.”

On iTunes: The EPs from 2011 and 2012, the “Arise” single from 2012 and his Voice audition song.

Keeping up with Brandon: On Twitter — @BrandonJChase — Facebook — YouTube — Website

For profiles of other Season 5 contestants, go here.

Brandon Chase, “Lemonade Sunday” from his 2012 EP

Brandon Chase, “Most Beautiful Thing” from his 2012 EP