Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Nick Boddington turned in the performance of the night on the final solo round for the American Idol guys in Hollywood.

Playing the keys himself, he delivered a sparkling version of Grace Potter’s “Stars” that had judge Keith Urban complimenting him on his “beautiful” vocal range.

And so it looks like Nick will get the chance to redeem himself, which he was searching for when he auditioned for Season 12 in New York.

Nick, you see, is among the returnees who made it to Vegas last year but didn’t quite squeeze into the Idol semifinals.

“I thought my chance had come and gone. They gave me a huge chance last year,” he says in his Road to Hollywood video, “and I wasn’t sure I’d get another one.”

On Facebook, the 27-year-old from Memphis refers to himself as a pop / alternative country singer.

His Facebook bio also indicates he works as a background vocalist and session musician for emerging singers in L.A., Memphis and New York, where he has lived for the past six years.

He’s also been performing for a while now. Along with Jade Bartlett, he was part of a duo called the Wonderland Robbers that released a pair of albums (2009 and 2010) and a single called “Sound & Fury” (also 2010). To listen to or download that music, just head here.

And last summer, he participated in an Icons World Tour, also featuring other singers who didn’t quite make the voting rounds of Idol, like Brett Lowenstern, Jen Hirsh and Creighton Fraker.

We also learned in his Road to Hollywood video that Nick is the only person in his family who has pursued music or shown any interest.

“But they’ve still stuck by me this whole time,” he says.

He thinks the fact that he’s inspired by a wide range of music — pop, R&B, country and folk — will serve him well in Season 12.

“Everything kind of inspires me, and still I’m able to produce something that’s Top 40,” Nick says. “Luckily, I’m able to grab all this inspiration and make it my own.”

A bit of Nick trivia: Nick first performed for an audience at age 11, doing a medley of Donny Osmond songs.

Clearly, he’s come a long way since then.

Here are three videos of Nick performing. The song “Honey Bee” is from one of the Wonderland Robber albums. For more, head here or to Nick’s website.

“Emotions”

“Wonderland”

“Honeybee” (original)