Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Matt Johnson, 26, of Staunton, Va., auditioned with “Never Too Much” by Luther Vandross. He neared the end of the song without a chair turn, then hit a prolonged glory note, promptly Jennifer Hudson to turn and giving Matt the last spot on Season 15. All of the other teams were full when he auditioned.

His background: He works at a local winery when he sells wine, of course, but also entertains customers, something he says he’d like to do on a more grand scale. Matt says he always felt different growing up, partly because he was one of the only black children in his community, partly because he’s gay. Then he got involved in musical theater and found his passion. He eventually wound up in Houston and was making some musical inroads there when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. He returned home to be closer to her and has been auditioning for The Voice ever since Season 1.

What the show didn’t show:

* In addition to singer, Matt identifies himself as a songwriter, keyboardist, producer and actor on Twitter.

* He started performing in the Shenandoah Valley area in a variety of productions.

* At one point, he was part of a band called MOON that headlined at the National Theater in Richmond.

* According to his Facebook bio, he’s recorded with Butch Taylor, longtime keyboardist for the Dave Matthews Band.

* He lists his influences as Alicia Keys, Stevie Wonder, John Legend, Michael Jackson, Dave Matthews Band and Elton John.

* On Instagram, he posts as much about his music production as his own music, expressing special pride in a song called “Reborn” that he wrote and produced for David Correy.

* On the same site, he praises Voice coach Kelly Clarkson, posting an image showing the song title called “I Don’t Think About You” and writing “this might be the best female pop vocal of all time.”

His social media links:
Instagram
Twitter: @MattJSings
Facebook
YouTube