Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Joshua Howard of Philadelphia, Pa., performed “This is What It Feels Like” for his blind audition. He says Adam Levine and Shakira turned around early in the performance. He wound up joining Team Adam, saying he went into the audition thinking he’d want either Adam or Usher should all four chairs turn around.

His background: The Voice aired just a snippet of Joshua’s blind audition. The bio on the show’s website tells us that Joshua has played music his whole life and was in a band with his sister. His greatest inspiration, the site says, is his father, who raised Joshua and his siblings as a single dad.

What the show didn’t show: Joshua might have been playing music his whole life, but he hasn’t been singing that long. In a conference call with the media, he said he went to college as a percussion major and has only been singing seriously for about three years. In an interview with New Music Inferno, Joshua said he and his sister, Maria, started performing worship services in churches, then branched out as a band called Emjay. His sister got married in October and is no longer in the band, which specialized in indie folk rock-type music. Even if he should he do very well on The Voice, Joshua says he’s likely to return to Emjay. “I’ve always seen myself playing with a band,” he says. “I’m the lead singer, so I do most of the singing and writing. I’d love to continue on with the band. That’s been my dream since I first started. With the guys I have now, they’ve been with me through thick and thin.” As for his performance style — “My friends would probably describe me as a chill, laid back person, but on stage, I do come alive. I’m very passionate with my music.”

On choosing Adam as a coach: “Adam gave me very honest feedback. I appreciate that. Right off the bat, he was just coaching me and telling me things that he would help me do and what I needed to work on. So that pretty much sold me.”

On iTunes: Just his audition song.

Update: He was eliminated in the battle round, losing to Christina Grimmie. They sang Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble.”

Keeping up with Joshua:
Twitter: @iamjoshuahoward
Facebook
YouTube

Editor’s Note: For links to profiles of all the Season 6 artists on The Voice, go here. And check back for live blogging during every episode of Season 6.

“What You Want Me To” (original)

“Poison and Wine” (Civil Wars cover)

“Story” (original)