Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Troy Ritchie, 21, of Trabuco Canyon, Calif., sang “Out of My League” by Fitz and The Trantrums. His performance enticed Gwen Stefani to turn her chair early in his performance. But the other coaches stayed put, leaving him on her team. Gwen called his performance “seamless.”

His background: In his pre-audition interview, Troy says he loves to entertain. Examples? We get to see him walking on his hands in a crowd outside the studio. We get to hear him doing impressions inside the studio. As for music, he says his parents bought him a guitar when he was in sixth grade. He had aspirations of becoming a rock guitar great. He’s now a child care leader and buses at a restaurant, where he also performs on Saturday nights. Since he’s never had a vocal lesson in his life, he was looking forward to working with any of the four Voice coaches.

What the show didn’t show: Troy says he grew up listening to classic rock and Motown music. After his metal phase, he started listening to more alternative rock, like Coldplay. “I used to practically be a Chris Martin impersonator,” he said in a conference call with the media. “I sounded almost identical to him because I just really loved what he did.” He also says he’s a huge fan of The Beatles and their songwriting. About three years ago, he became part of an electronic pop-rock band called Sleep State with Michael Haua, Parker Jackson and David Greenwood. The group recorded a single called “Making Up the Rules,” though it doesn’t appear to be available on iTunes. In his Voice video, Troy says he writes most of the band’s music. He’s familiar with Gwen’s music, too, largely because his sisters were huge fans of hers. “I know she’s a really unique artist and writer, and I think she’s going to help me find who I want to be as an artist,” Troy says. He attends Saddleback College and intends to pursue sound engineering if music doesn’t work out.

Update: Troy defeated Menlik Zergabachew in the battle round; they performed “Maneater” by Hall and Oates. But he lost his Team Gwen knockout round match to John Taylor Williams. Troy performed OutKast’s “Hey, Y’all.”

On iTunes: Just his audition song.

Keeping up with Troy:
Twitter: @iamtroyritchie
Facebook
YouTube
Facebook (Sleep State)

“Making the Rules” (original by Sleep State)

“Yellow” (cover)

“Ooh La La” (cover)