Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Dakota Cohen, 25, Los Angeles, Calif., “Changes” by Ozzy Osbourne: Dakota says she grew up singing rock music and you can hear that in the rasp and grit in her voice. Adam Levine nearly turned early in the performance. But the coaches made Dakota work for it. Adam and Riley Green didn’t turn until the last second. Adam praised Dakota’s song choice and her handling of it. Turns out Dakota sang at a restaurant Adam was eating at, sang a Maroon 5 song and got a thumbs-up from Adam. He seems to remember the moment. Riley assures Dakota he would have given her two thumbs up had he been there. Dakota opted to join Team Adam. (Watch her audition below)

Here’s more about Dakota:

* She’s a female rocker / pop artist from L.A. with lots of music already released.

* Dakota released a very catchy single called “E-V-I-L” about fishnets, black boots and girl power in August. And on Friday, she dropped the excellent “Thank You for the Party Favor,” writing “very excited to add a little darkness to your fall.”

* And those came on the heels of a single called “So LA” and a five-song EP called “For Display Only” from earlier this year.

* In interviews, Dakota says she knew she wanted to play music and be on stage from a young age, asking her mother for drum lessons after watching a band thrill at audience at an outdoor mall when she was 9.

* She wound up learning to play drums. Plus guitar, keys, ukulele and bass. She spent eight years as a student at the School of Rock in West L.A. and began writing her own music at age 15.

* Dakota has also attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston as a double major and won the college’s Best Songwriter Award.

* She describes the music she writes as “very fun, easy to listen to, empowering, and very, very danceable!”

* Back in 2019, Dakota auditioned for Season 17 of American Idol. She made it all the way to the Top 40 before being eliminated. But I’m not sure any of her performances aired on the show.

* She began releasing her own music — some as simply Dakota — the same year and dropped her debut EP — “Die on the Hill” — in 2025. She’s also already released seven music videos showcasing her vibrant personality. Check out “So L.A.” below.

Dakota on social media:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube