Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Anthony Arya, 15, of Santa Cruz, Calif., auditioned with “Danny’s Song” by Kenny Loggins. Accompanying himself on guitar, the teen got a quick chair turn from Adam Levine. But Adam was the only coach to turn, meaning Anthony automatically joined his team.

His background: Anthony is sophomore in high school who said he specializes in folk music. He started learning guitar seven years ago and starting busking around San Francisco three years ago. He says he and his mom have been watching The Voice since the first episode aired back in 2011. Oh, and Kelly Clarkson compared him to a Greek god with a guitar.

On being on Team Adam: “I’m so thrilled to be able to work with him. I mean he started his band Kara’s Flowers, which turned into Maroon 5, when he was in high school, so I really admire that. And I think he obviously has so much success in the music industry that it’s just a dream come true to be able to work with him.”

What the show didn’t show:

* On Facebook, Anthony classifies his music as Americana/folk rock but with blues, jazz and rock influences.

* In his website bio, Anthony says he started playing guitar in fourth grade and learned to sing by participating in school choir and musicals.

* In the 2016-17 school year, Anthony was the only guitarist selected for the Kuumbwa Jazz Honor Band, which includes top jazz students from high schools in the Santa Cruz area.

* He started writing his own songs in eighth grade and released one of those songs, his debut single “Blues by Midnight” in May of this year.

* That said, you can check out a number of Anthony’s other originals on his YouTube channel and website. The links are below. I’ve also embedded one of his latest songs, “Going to California.”

* Anthony is also a member of a band called Chasing Ophelia with friends Ryan Ouse and Shane Blanco. They play a mix of rock and blues classics along with more current music.

* Among his musical influences, Anthony lists John Mayer, The Grateful Dead, Jim Morrison, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, and The Beatles.

* Anthony was a sophomore at Kirby School in Santa Cruz when he did an interview with KWMR back in May.

On social media:
Instagram
Website
Twitter: @anthonyjadearya
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