Country singer Kristen Merlin, a Season 6 standout on The Voice, has released an impressive new EP. The five-track “Boomerang” hit iTunes Tuesday, though two of the songs had been available earlier. This marks the first post-Voice music from Kristen, who was 29 when she auditioned for The Voice and landed a spot on Team…
So far on American Idol Season 14, we’ve met singers who busk on the streets of Nashville. Buskers who work the subways in New York. Then there’s Kohlton Pascal, a busker on the move. Kohlton told Idol he travels all the time to “defeat depression and boredom and stagnant living.” He never stays in one…
Joey Cook walked into the American Idol audition room with her accordion and her ukulele. We only got to hear her play the accordion, during a unique cover of “King of Spain” that drew rave reviews during Kansas City auditions. Keith Urban called the 23-year-old from Woodbridge, Va. “my favorite voice of the whole day,…
So, did you like what you heard from RaeLynn at the Jingle Bell Jam in York last month? If so, you can now download more RaeLynn music. The 20-year-old country singer has released her first EP, entitled “Me.” It features two songs we’re familiar with, her first single, “Boyfriend,” and her current hit, “God Made…
Shania Scott would appear to have three things going for her on American Idol Season 14. A unique look. A unique sound. And a unique name. She prefers not to go by Shania, because it means beautiful and she told the Idol judges she doesn’t like strangers calling her beautiful. So she’s shortened her stage…
One of the more original auditions the American Idol judges heard in New York came from a performer known as Jax. The 18-year-old sat behind a piano and delivered a slowed down, soulful pop version of The Beatles’ classic, “I Wanna Hold Your Hand.” And her performance drew rave reviews, not to mention a unanimous…
We didn’t really meet Katherine Winston during the New York audition episode of American Idol. Which is a shame, because when I was researching contestants rumored to do well this year, her original music was among the most impressive. Particularly a song called “Black Rose,” which she posted to SoundCloud last spring and which I’ve…
Gotta admit, the first time I listened to Kat Robichaud’s new album, I wondered what the heck she was doing. Two listens later, I had my answer. She was delivering a delightfully different album, one of the best and certainly the most unique we’ve gotten from a former contestant on The Voice. She’ll have you…
And tonight, we’re off to New York on American Idol. That would be Jennifer Lopez’s stomping ground, though a man residing in the home where she used to live doesn’t seem to have any idea who Jennifer Lopez is. Hmm, surprised that wasn’t edited out. It’s also the city where Adam Lambert took Keith’s spot…
My question for Ellen Petersen: Where was the hot pink banjo? Ellen, 22, of Branson, Mo., walked into the Idol audition room carrying a banjo that looked pretty darn traditional. Then she launched into a rendition of “I Wanna Be a Cowboy Sweetheart,” displaying perhaps the best voice we heard during the Kansas City audition…
