Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Riley Bria, the first Hollywood-bound contestant we met on American Idol Season 14, grew up in Lancaster. (FOX Photo)

Riley Bria grew up in Lancaster and spent two years performing in a contemporary country band, first known as Headstrong, then as Levi Road.

The band consisted of Riley, brothers Jaden and Spencer and friend Josh Woratyla. Riley’s dad, Isaac, served as their music manager.

On the show, Riley was introduced to us as a 17-year-old student from Springhill, Tenn. That’s because the family picked up and moved to the Nashville area about a year and a half ago .

In an interview with The TV Page, Riley explained that his family made the move so he could pursue a career as a country artist. His dad writes songs, Riley said.

And this isn’s his first stab at a televised singing competition. He tried out for Season 5 of The Voice, but failed to make the cut.

“This has been a much better experience for me,” he said of Idol.

Riley gets the credit for that because he seemed totally at ease and was very impressive performing a Keith Urban song, “Georgia Woods,” in his audition.

Riley described himself as a big Keith Urban fan and got to play guitar with him at the 2012 American Country Awards show, an experience he describes as the biggest moment of his life.

His Idol audition might rank close behind, considering the praise he received.

Jennifer Lopez called him “so cool” and “made for the stage.” Harry Connick Jr. called him “entertaining and captivating.”

He also got a rave review from Keith, who was impressed that Riley auditioned with “an obscure album track.”

Others were apparently impressed, too. Riley’s Twitter following had swelled to more than 2,700 by the weekend following his audition, prompting him to Tweet: “Loving the new fans.”

Here are some Riley links, followed by some samples of his music.

Levi Road website
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter: @RileyBria