Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: J. Chosen, 29, of Atlanta, Ga., was the first contestant we met in Season 12 and auditioned with Marvin Gaye’s “Sexual Healing.” Alicia Keys turned her chair early in the performance and was clearly impressed with what she saw and heard. By the time the song ended, all four chairs were facing in J. Chosen’s direction. He opted to join Team Gwen Stefani.

His background: His real name is Joshua Hunter, but he goes by J. Chosen as a stage name because he feels like he was chosen to do music. But though he played tuba in band growing up, music wasn’t always his focus. He stands 6-foot-6, which means he played lots and lots of basketball. In fact, he earned a full scholarship to Appalachian State University and had NBA dreams before shattering his knee. That’s when he turned back to music. He also works with special needs children. He has a son who lives with his mother in Albany, Ga.

What the show didn’t show:

* In his Voice bio, he credits a music producer who encouraged him to perform at an open mic night for rekindling his love of music.

* On Facebook, he vows to “break the mold and change the sound of R&B.”

* He released a single called “Gibberish,” featuring rapper Gucci Mane, in 2013. I’d embed it, but the lyrics are too explicit. You can listen to the full song on Soundcloud.

* He sang two songs on the “Carter High” movie soundtrack from last year — “Stay Strong” and “Dream.”

* All three of those songs were released under a slightly different stage name — J Chozen.

* He also acts and performed in the live stage play “Choices: The Life of a Teenager” in Georgia last year.

* On the show, we heard J. Chosen say he chose Gwen because of the musical diversity she offers. He explained in more detail during a conference call with the media. “I knew coming into the show that I just didn’t want to perform to one audience. I never want to put myself in a box. I thought, ‘Okay, let’s think outside the box and grow.'”

Keeping up with JChosen (JChozen):
Twitter: @Jchosenmusic
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube

“Come Home” snippet

“Stay Strong” from the “Carter High” soundtrack