Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Ben Briley had no trouble convincing American Idol judges to grant him a golden ticket in Atlanta.

Heck, Keith Urban said he might even crash his car if he was driving and heard Ben come on the radio. Keith thought Ben’s voice was that good.

Ben Briley got a unanimous yes to advance to Hollywood from American Idol’s Atlanta auditions. (FOX Photo)

And this time, he got to skip the long lines by winning “The American Idol Experience” during a trip to Disney World in Orlando.

The station tells us that Ben graduated from Middle State Tennessee University where he studied public relations and broadcast journalism. But Ben considers that his backup plan.

“Plan number one was to play music the rest of my life and make a living and support my family,” the 24-year-old from Gallatin, Tenn., said.

Ben sang Amos Lee’s “Arms of a Woman” on Idol. Harry Connick Jr. dubbed him “Brother Gumbo.”

“He said I had country, blues and R&B all in one package,” Ben says in his Road to Hollywood video. “Which is exactly what I wanted to hear, because that’s what I was going for.”

Ben says his biggest musical inspiration is Johnny Cash, because while he might not have had the greatest voice, he had an image and style of music that developed into a long-term career.

That said, Ben says he’s not going to imitate Johnny Cash or any other singer.

“The only thing I can do is be Ben Briley and work on being Ben Briley,” he says.

On Twitter, Ben calls himself a singer-songwriter who’s married “to an unbelievably amazing woman.”

Then he adds: “Music keeps me going. Friends keep me humble. Family keeps me strong.”

Here are links to Ben’s Facebook page and Twitter account (@BenBriley).

You can check out more of his music on this YouTube channel.

“Desperado”

“Georgia on My Mind”

“Man of Constant Sorrow”