Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Blaze Johnson, 23, of Columbus, Ohio, auditioned with The Fray’s “How to Save a Life.” A strong opening prompted Adam Levine to turn around. Blake Shelton joined him at the song’s midway point. Blaze finished with a flourish, but couldn’t entice the other two coaches to follow. Adam called him an “astounding” singer who lives outside the box. Blaze decided to join Team Adam.

His background: Blaze tells The Voice he’s from the Bahamas, though he lives in Ohio these days. He said his dad moved the family to the U.S. to make a better life; he wanted to attend Bible college. “It was kind of rough as a kid, because my dad was a janitor at the school that I went to. The kids would make fun of me in front of my dad. It used to break my heart.” Blaze recalls auditioning for a solo in a school play, but thinks the fact that he was from another country kept him from getting the part. He said that experience almost made him give up music. His dad convinced him not to stop. The family eventually moved back to the Bahamas, but Blaze stayed in Ohio because he thinks there are better opportunities there. He lives with the pastor at Rock Church Columbus and leads the music ministry there. He describes himself as “a big guy with a big voice and a big dream.”

What the show didn’t show: In his Voice video, Blaze says his love of singing goes back to when he was 5, back in the Bahamas, when he would watch his father rehearse at the church where he was a youth director and music minister. “I was sitting there watching him play and thought, ‘Man, I want to do that.” One day, when they got home, his dad left his keyboards set up in the house. “He left the room, and I started banging on it. The first song I played was ‘Mary Had a Little Lamb.’ I thought I’d get in trouble, but my dad came back in the room and said, ‘No, let me show you more.'” In addition to working with the church in Columbus, Blaze says he does little gigs and shows on the side. Last year, he released a pop single called “Live Out Loud” that’s available on iTunes. In a conference call with the media, he calls being on The Voice “a crazy and humbling experience,” but also confirmation of his vocal ability.

On picking Adam: “It was about three years ago. I was sitting home in my room, working on music when a Maroon 5 song came on. I was like, ‘I want to work with him one day.’ I didn’t know how it was going to happen, but I made it my goal, ‘one day I’m going to work with him.”

On iTunes: His Voice audition song and a 2014 pop single called “Live Out Loud.”

Update: He was matched with Michael Leier in the Team Adam battle round. They sang “Rude” by Magic. Adam declared Blaze the winner; Michael was eliminated. In the knockout round, he was pitted against DeAnna Johnson, who turned four chairs in the blind audition round. Blaze performed “You Found Me” by the Fray, but was eliminated when DeAnna was declared the winner.

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Twitter: @BlazeJohnsonJr

My World (original)

She is Love (Parachute cover)