Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Austin Giorgio performs during the live playoffs on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Austin Giorgio loves the American jazz standards. Blake Shelton is well-known for his tutelage of country singers on The Voice.

But the pairing wound up getting Austin all the way to the live shows on Season 14. In fact, Austin became the first contestant ever saved in the knockout round.

That happened because Blake refused to let Austin go home despite declaring Spensha Baker the winner of their knockout round match.

Now that his time on the show is over — he was eliminated in the live playoffs — Austin says he plans to focus on creating new music for fans that will combine his love of jazz and modern musical influences.

Here’s what the young man from Rochester, N.Y., told Voice Views about his time on The Voice and his plans moving forward.

Voice Views: What’s next for you as an artist? And do you envision releasing new music soon? And what sound fans can expect?

Austin: Carry the torch for Jazz music. I’d like to take American standards and rearrange the music to match today’s musical influence while retaining the jazz roots. I was fortunate to have a team surround me after the show’s closure and plan to release some music this year as well as put on auditorium concerts in the Northeast with the new band! Woohoo! Fans can expect a new sound of Jazz — the modern take on the American Songbook. For a lack of better words, the return of a crooner in modern music.

Voice Views: How do you think your career — and any music you release in the future — will be affected by The Voice experience? If so, how?

Austin: I couldn’t thank The Voice enough — what an incredible launching pad. The production team, artist, and performances have taught me what would take years of experience in only seven months.

Voice Views: During the playoffs, we didn’t get to hear about the thought process behind the song choices. Can you explain yours a bit? And how do you think those performances went for you?

Austin: The song choices were actually picked for a reason most might not have realized. Blake asked me to sing Dean Martin’s “Ain’t That a Kick in the Head” exactly like Dean sung it. It threw me off at first since I was more focused on showing America my modern take on Jazz. To be told to sing it exactly like the original artist, I wasn’t sure it would go over well. Blake is much more experienced than myself, so i took the advise for the song and ran with it. Ultimately, it turned out very good, and America seemed to love the performance.

The second song, “Love Yourself,” was a fun challenge. At first, we arranged it to be with piano and bass (and potentially muted trumpet) but ultimately decided the guitar arrangement worked best for the holistic view. We didn’t have enough time to create the Justin Bieber song how I envisioned, so rather than perform it half-baked, we kept it true to the original arrangement. The integrity of each song was preserved to allow the audience to see the contrast in arrangements, lyrics and meaning. Given that I’d like to produce Pop Jazz music (leaning more on the jazz side), it was a fun way to show off the differences in bigband and pop, yet leaving my fans to wonder what the blend would sound like.

While I knew my true Jazz fans would not “love” the Justin Bieber tune, it allowed them to hear my voice in a chamber they were not used to. It also appealed to fans that watch the show regularly, and search for versatility in voices rather than niche. Both songs turned out very well, the only critique for myself lays in the performance preparation. We changed the “Love Yourself” choreography and singing notes three hours before we went live. So going in, I had many thoughts sitting on that stool. There are no regrets. It was such an unbelievable experience. This was only one of life’s many great moments.

Also, super excited to record the “Love Yourself” in the arrangement I pictured so everyone can hear it, much more jazzy! (coming soon)

Voice Views: What was your favorite performance from the show and why?

Austin: There was no one particular performance that trumped the other simply because each one built up to my end goal of making it to the live shows. I would say thought that my blind was absolutely hilarious and has led to some hilarious jokes and one liners between friends … “Come on everybody!” .. “Za Za”

Voice Views: That was a new playoff format this season. What did you think of it and would you recommend any changes for future seasons?

Austin: I thought the format worked well, obviously it is a change and change is always greeted with backlash.

Voice Views: Is there anything else you’d like to add about The Voice experience?

Austin: The team behind the scenes is incredible. They work long hours and always come with positive energy. From the production team, to the wardrobe and hairstylists, everyone added to the experience in the best way possible.

Editor’s Note: Austin was 21 when he auditioned for the show. To learn more about him pre-Voice, head here. His social media links follow.

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