Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Caleb Elder, 19, Appomattox, Va., performed “Groove Me” for his Voice audition. He demonstrated lots of soul and a few dance moves, prompting Adam to turn around early in the performance. As it turned out, Adam was the only coach with a spot left on his team when Caleb stepped on the stage. Adam complimented him on being “a cool dude.”

His background: Though he didn’t show a hint of it during his blind audition, Caleb told The Voice he was shy and awkward as a youngster. Music helped him come out of that shell. He picked up piano, then learned guitar, harmonica, bass guitar and “a little banjo.” He went off to college to study audio engineering, then decided to put that on the side to pursue music as a performer. To make ends meet, he works in a doughnut shop during the day and plays gigs at night. And he told The Voice he was hoping Adam would turn around because “I’ve been listening to him since I was a little kid.”

On having Adam as a coach: “To be part of Team Adam is a humbling experience. I see who else is on the team and how talented the people around me are, and I’m just blessed to be here. I’m hoping Adam can really take me to the next level. I feel like I’m kind of on this plane. I stay in my comfort zone. I really think Adam can put me somewhere where I never thought I could be.”

What the show didn’t show: If you’re wondering where the soul Caleb showed off on The Voice stage came from, here’s the answer. In his Facebook bio, Caleb says his first exposure to music came during childhood when his father would play the music of Eric Clapton, Ray Charles and Sam Cooke. As for all those instruments, his grandmother taught him to play the piano and he now plays eight, including the dobro. And he’s apparently no stranger to performing. The same bio says he’s performed with 10 bands during his career — and remember, he’s just 19. He wrote his first song in 11th grade and is currently working on a debut album. You can check out his original material on his SoundCloud page. I’ve embedded a single called “Storms” below, but it doesn’t appear to be available on iTunes. Another of my favorite tracks is “If I Was Cool.” WNCN reports that Caleb no longer works at Daylight Donuts in Wake Forest, but shop owner Denise Lull said she spoke with him after the audition and described him as “so full of life and friendly.”

On iTunes: Just his audition song.

Update: He was defeated in the battle round by Delvin Choice; they sang “Aloe Blacc’s “The Man.”

Keeping up with Caleb:
Twitter: @calebelder44
Facebook
YouTube

Editor’s Note: For links to profiles of all the Season 6 artists on The Voice, go here.

“Storms”

“Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”