Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: James McNeiece, 25, of Howell, Mich., auditioned with Sam Smith’s “Lay Me Down” in a performance that was part of a montage. Only Adam Levine turned around, but he predicted James would go far in the competition.

His background: His Voice bio tells us James was studying criminal justice in college with plans to become a SWAT officer when he decided to enter an online competition that had a goal of forming the next pop super group. He was selected and left college to be in the group, performing around the country for two years. When the contract ended, he returned to L.A. in an attempt to launch a solo career. He’s working at a shipping company to make ends meet in the meantime.

What the show didn’t show: James told The Voice that he played football from fifth grade through his senior year of college and got back into music around sophomore year by posting videos to YouTube. That previous competition: It was called On the Spot: Johnny Wright’s Quest to Form the Next Supergroup. James eventually joined five other singers to form a group that became known as Y6, but they didn’t quite achieve supergroup status. Another member was KellyeAnn Rodgers, who auditioned for Season 14 of American Idol. Despite that, James labels his experience as “slim.” As for his music — “I kind of always say I want a mix of that blue-eyed soul, but also with that interesting track and good beat behind it.”

On landing on Team Adam: “I really hope he helps me with just my confidence on stage, just being able to portray the feeling of the music to the audience and feeling comfortable with what I’m doing up there on stage.”

On iTunes: Just his audition song.

Update: James was pitted against Tonya Boyd-Cannon in the battle round. They sang Michael Jackson’s “Pretty Young Thing.” Adam declared Tonya the winner; James was eliminated.

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Twitter: @JamesMcNeiece

“As Long as You Love Me” (Justin Bieber cover)

“Stay with Me” (Sam Smith cover)

“Kings and Queens” (SoMo cover)