Idol Chatter & Voice Views

The very last audition we heard from Austin on American Idol came courtesy of John Fox.

The 20-year-old from the small town of Magnolia, Texas, said he was attending a four-year college..

John Fox during his audition for American Idol Season 13 in Austin. (FOX Photo)

Then he decided “I want to be an artist, I want to be a singer” and decided to focus his energy in that direction.

That meant moving back in with supportive parents and becoming a worship leader at a local church.

On Idol, John auditioned with “To Make You Feel My Love” while playing guitar, and got rave reviews from the judges.

Harry Connick Jr. said he was surprised by John’s sound. Keith Urban called his audition “refreshing” because his vocals weren’t buried when he played guitar.

In his Road to Hollywood video, John admits he was nervous auditioning in front of the new judging panel, but relieved to make it as far as he did in a previous try at Idol (he doesn’t specify which season).

He says his number one musical inspiration is Rob Thomas, both his solo music and his music with Matchbox Twenty.

While he’s a singer-songwriter — his parents say he wrote his first song at age 6 — John says he doesn’t have a singer-songwriter voice and thinks that will help set him apart from other contestants.

“I have a kind of pop-rock voice,” he says, “so I’m really interested in integrating pop-rock music, but with singer-songwriter lyrics and vibe.

John has released a single to iTunes — “One Wish” — which I’ve embedded below along with one of his covers. To hear more, head to his YouTube channel.

Here are links to his Facebook page and Twitter account (@JohnFoxy8).

“One Wish” (original with lyrics)

“All of Me” (John Legend cover)