Idol Chatter & Voice Views

With silver chains around his neck and pink spikes on his shoulders, Austin Alvarez stood out among American Idol contestants in Austin.

Of course, Idol identified Austin as a makeup artist, so you had to expect a bit of theatrics.

Austin Alvarez received a golden ticket to Hollywood at the American Idol auditions in Austin. (FOX Photo)

What worked best though was his voice as Austin sang Stevie Wonder’s “All in Love is Fair” and got the yes votes he needed from Keith Urban and Harry Connick Jr. to advance to the Hollywood round.

In an interview with My Fox Austin, the 26-year-old said he actually sang two songs for the judges, opening with “Titanium.”

That turned out to be a bit of a shaky start, he admitted. So he asked for permission to sing a second song, and both Keith and Harry seemed more impressed with his Stevie Wonder cover.

Austin told My FOX he’s been singing for about 10 years, but this was the first time he auditioned for Idol.

He released a 15-track album called “Guide to Life” in 2010 that’s still available on iTunes. And he released a single called “Shot Me Dead” last year that you can check out below.

On his website, Austin says his goal is to blend “a unique style of pop, R&B/Soul, electronic, and classical piano with poignant, honest songwriting.”

The outfit he wore into the audition room is part of his performance style.

“I want to give people an experience both visually and audibly,” he writes on his site. “Performance, for me, is one of the most fundamental parts of connecting with people.”

He even addressed the spikes in his Road to Hollywood video.

“When I walked in, they may have thought, ‘Who is this kid? He’s got pink spikes on his shoulders,'” Austin said, smiling. “But this is me. This is what I do.”

If you’d like to check out more of what Austin does, you can check out his YouTube channel and that website.

And here are links to Austin’s Facebook page and Twitter account (@AustinAlvarez).

“Shot Me Dead” (video for aforementioned single)

“Someone Like You”

“A Song for You”