Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: AJ Harvey, 25, of Norman, Okla., performed “Girl from the North Country” by Bob Dylan. AJ’s singer-songwriter vibe enticeD quick chair turns from Chance, followed by Dan + Shay. AJ completed a nice, smooth performance, but no one else turns. Reba complimented him on a “great job.” John said he has a lovely voice. Dan liked the richness in his vocals. Shay called it phenomenal. Chance liked the soul in the performance. AJ decided to join Team Dan + Shay.

Here’s more about AJ:

* He’s a singer-songwriter, raised in Wichita, Kansas and now based in Norman, Oklahoma.

* He’s of Ponca and Pawnee heritage and grew up participating in indigenous music and dance traditions with his two younger sisters.

* And while his focus is music, that background led to a role in the 2023 big-budget Hollywood film “Killers of the Flower Moon,” directed by Martin Scorsese.

* Credited as Anthony J. Harvey in the film’s credits, he plays the role of Charles Whitehorn, a young Osage man murdered in Oklahoma during the 1920s.

* In a November interview with The Sunflower, AJ says he was on the set for two days, got the full Hollywood treatment and even received some personal direction from Scorsese.

* As for his music, AJ has already released a handful of original songs you can stream, including “My Blues” and “Black Eyed Beauty Blues,” both of which dropped at the start of the year. “This is my little tribute to the sounds of the Delta Blues musicians I admire so well,” he wrote on social media.

* His other released originals include “Waiting” from 2021 and “Hazel” from 2022. The latter, writes AJ is about ” the feeling of wanting to return to someone you know you needed to escape from. Yet, they still have their grip on you. It’s anxious, soft, quite dramatic. However, quite truthful.”

* In Oklahoma, he’s been performing with a band called Biscuits and Groovy, a group that plays blues, jazz, funk, rock and reggae music, according to its Facebook page.

* In his Spotify bio, AJ says he comes from a heavy rock and blues background and includes Jimi Hendrix, John Mayer and Eric Clapton among his inspirations.

* His goal, he writes, is to combine “a rich guitar sound with sensitive and emotional lyrics that make you go along for the ride.”

AJ on social media:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube