Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Colton Smith, 21, of Albertville, Ala., auditioned with “Alive” by Sia. Pre-audition, he said he was hoping for a chair turn from Jennifer Hudson, and that’s just what happened. She was the only coach to turn, meaning Colton automatically became a Team JHUD member. Jennifer complimented his voice and his showmanship.

His background: He grew up in Alabama and says growing up gay was tough there. Still, he says he has a slew of friends and family who support him. He says music was like therapy for him when he was young. He chose his audition song because it’s about perseverance.

On being on Team Jennifer: “I was really hoping that Jennifer would turn around initially just because I kind of see my personality in her,” Colton said during a conference call with the media. “She’s just larger than life and, you know, over-the-top. So I guess that’s kind of what I’m hoping for going forward and what I was expecting after my blind — going above and beyond to pull out the biggest parts of my personality and my voice.”

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* Colton credits his grandmother for introducing him to music. She was a singer in her church and would sing around the house all the time, he says.

* And he credits music for helping him endure the bullying he experienced in elementary and middle school. “Music was how I learned to love and accept myself,” he says.

* He’s a graduate of Albertville High School in Alabama where he was a member of the show choir, including a special performance group called VocalEase that performed pop, gospel and jazz music.

* He then went on to attend Belmont University in Nashville as a voice and commercial business student.

* At Belmont, he became a member of a vocal ensemble called Company that performs songs from “a variety of Broadway shows and popular music styles with fully-staged choreography.”

* There’s a video on his YouTube channel of him performing James Arthur’s “Coming Home for Summer” with Company.

* Colton was interviewed by his hometown newspaper in May 2017 because he had auditioned for and earned a spot alongside nine other singers from the U.S. performing at the 2017 Elpse Festival in Germany.

His social media links:
Instagram
Twitter: @coltonasmith
Facebook
YouTube