Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Josh West, 17, of Glendale, Ariz., auditioned with Duran Duran’s “Ordinary World.” When he hit the chorus for the first time, Adam Levine and Gwen Stefani turned around. A note that hit the stratosphere prompted turns from Blake Shelton and Alicia Keys as well, meaning Josh had all four coaches to choose from. Adam said he loved the way Josh’s voice “filled the room.” Josh eventually joined Team Adam.

His background: Josh is in a band with his dad; he’s the singer and the bass player. His dad plays guitar. “When me and my dad play, we always envision ourselves playing bigger places,” he says. “We’re usually playing someplace where people are busy eating and talking. I just want to go some place where people came to hear me sing.” His dad has taught guitar for 30 years, and Josh says he always wanted a career in music. He participated in musical theater in school. In the past year and a half, he says he’s played more than 100 shows at 30 venues.

What the show didn’t show:

* According to his Voice bio, Josh was home schooled so he’d have the flexibility to perform when he had the chance.

* He graduated from high school at age 15 and has been focused on music ever since.

* According to his Facebook bio, he began writing songs in 2012 and turned professional at age 16.

* He lists his musical style as alternative pop-rock, but says other genres also influence his songwriting.

* His biggest musical influences include U2, Switchfoot, Oasis, Beck, Relient K, The Fray and Coldplay.

* You can head to his Reverbnation page to check out three of his originals.

* Josh said he and his father perform as the Josh West Band and do mostly rock covers — The Rolling Stones, Black Crowes, Kings of Leon, Foo Fighters, etc. — but are hoping to work more originals into their set. In fact, they have their first original show booked for later this month. Many of those covers, from performances at The Roadhouse, are posted on his YouTube page and you can check out two below.

* As for singing “Ordinary World” for his audition — “That song is one of my favorite songs,” Josh told Voice Views during a conference call with the media after his audition aired. “It kind of rides that line that I like to write in with my father between rock and pop. The meaning behind the song is incredibly emotional.”

* During the conference call, Josh said Gwen almost convinced him to select her with some of the comments she made — some of which were edited out of the show — but that he and his family had discussed it and had already agreed to go with Adam if that option was available. And he called it “awesome” that Adam said Josh reminded him of himself when he was younger.

Keeping up with Josh:
Twitter: @JoshWest4Music
Facebook
Instagram
YouTube

“My, My, Hey, Hey” (Neil Young cover)

“Knocking on Heaven’s Door” (Bob Dylan cover)