Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Blind audition: Aaron Gibson, 25, of Atlanta, Ga., auditioned with a slowed-down version of REM’s “Losing My Religion,” showing off nice raspy vocals. Midway through the song, Blake Shelton, Miley Cyrus and Alicia Keys turn in rapid succession. Alicia called his voice “such a special, powerful tone” and liked the way Aaron made the song his own. Miley said Aaron’s voice is one she’d like to listen to in her car. Aaron joined Team Miley.

His background: His dad was in the Marine Corp, meaning the family moved about 15 times while he was growing up. Aaron considered following in his footsteps, but began experimenting with singing when he was 18. He wasn’t quite ready to pursue music, however, until after college, when he started gigging. Aaron recently quit a job with a background check business to commit himself full time to music. His former job paid more and was more consistent, but Aaron says he’s now “having a lot more fun.” He performs at bars and restaurants in the Atlanta area. That said, he describes himself as “completely untrained.”

What the show didn’t show:
* According to his Facebook bio, Aaron took some guitar lessons at age 10, but didn’t play music for five years. Then, on a bus ride home during his freshman year of high school, he heard a student playing Eric Clapton’s “Tears in Heaven” on the guitar. After that, he became obsessed with learning to play guitar.
* He also taught himself to play the ukulele and mandolin, but it wasn’t until he had started performing as an instrumentalist that he began writing lyrics and singing, according to that bio. His Voice bio says his dad was the one who suggested he try singing at an open mic night.
* In January, he formed the Aaron Gibson Trio, also featuring Nick Weaver on drums and Justin Isasi on vocals and bass. They released a three-track EP in May. “I’ll Be the One” is superb. You can check out two of the songs from the EP below.
* He previously released two EP’s as a solo artist — a three-track self-titled EP and the six-track “Live at the Vault.” Both are available on iTunes, as is the Aaron Gibson Trio EP.
* Aaron describes his music as alt rock / singer-songwriter. “I went from a solo act to a band because I was musically changing directions and I wanted a fresh start,” he says. “I write all the music for the band just like I did as a solo act so it’s really just another outlet of my music, just under another name. In the future I would see myself moving forward with The Trio.”
* The Voice bio says Aaron also has volunteered as a counselor at a camp for kids with Tourette’s syndrome called Camp Twitch and Shout for the past five years.
* As for his audition song, Aaron describes REM as “a major influence … Additionally, I like the fact that they’re a Georgia-based band, so there’s for sure the hometown hero aspect.”
* And Aaron says he picked Miley as his coach because she has “one of those larger-than-life personalities” and he wants her to make him “more exciting to watch.”

Keeping up with Aaron:
Twitter: @aarondgibson
Facebook
Aaron Gibson Trio website
YouTube