Idol Chatter & Voice Views

A year ago, Curtis Finch Jr. made it to the group round in Las Vegas on American Idol before being cut.

His miscalculation might have been performing in the same group with Joshua Ledet, who went on to finish third in Season 11.

Both men are take-it-to-church gospel singers, and it was tough for Curtis to shine the brightest with Joshua around.

But he’s had no trouble shining in Season 12, and Idol has given him every opportunity to do just that.

The 24-year-old from St. Louis wowed the judges with a rendition of “God is Able” at the Chicago auditions, then was the breakout star on the first day in Hollywood.

In fact, his huge glory note during his group’s rendition of Bruno Mars’ “The Lazy Song” brought the judges to their feet for a standing ovation and earned a salute from sometimes hard-to-please Nicki Minaj.

Curtis’ singing style isn’t surprising considering he’s a choir director back home. That’s when he’s not working as a tutor at a charter school.

In his Road to Hollywood video, his credits his spiritual background for inspiring him to sing, something he’s been doing since he was 6 or 7 and performed his first solo, a rendition of “Oh, Happy Day,” in church.

“I always say that I can’t do much,” Curtis says. “But singing is one thing I feel gifted to do. I know (God) doesn’t give us gifts in order to just keep them to ourselves. I feel like I’m being the most unselfish when I’m singing.”

Curtis also describes himself as a guy who likes to smile — he has dimples, after all — and likes to make others do the same.

Judging from all of the clips of him singing in church settings, he often goes by CJ, though Nicki gave him a new nickname — “Finchy” — at the Chicago auditions.

I doubt he was complaining after she declared “omg” when he finished singing, then launched into a joyous little rap.

Here are three videos of Curtis performing. For more, head here.

“He’s Got the Whole World in His Hands”