Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Les Greene auditioned for the first season of American Idol on ABC.

Sunday marks the third episode of auditions on the show, with Katy Perry, Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie deciding which singers get a golden ticket to Hollywood.

Here’s more about Les.

* Les is a 27-year-old who grew up in East Baltimore and Towson, Md.

* After spending time working on a cruise ship as a massage therapist, he went to Key West, Fla., on vacation to visit a buddy and decided to stay.

* In a 2016 interview with the Palm Beach New Times, Les says he never sang in public until moving to Key West. That buddy sang and would encourage him to join in on stage.

* It was at an open mic night that he met his current band mates, including Tyler “T-Bone” McHone and Patrick Stecher. They were part of an instrumental band, but were so impressed by Les’ vocals, they invited him to join.

* Patrick and the Swayzees have been performing surf, rockabilly and rock-and-roll ever since. In fact, you can find a couple of their covers on Key West compilation albums on Spotify.

* The band has also been working on original material, with hopes of releasing a debut album of originals at some point.

* Les is known for his high-energy performances and told the FlKeyNews part of that stems from burning off stage fright. Though he’s come a long way in that regard, he admits “I’m just a jittery mess 90 percent of show day.”

* He sang Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” for his Idol audition, telling the same site: “It’s just so relevant no matter what time you are in. That song speaks to everyone.”

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