Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His blind audition: Darious Lyles, 30, of Chicago, Ill., performed “How Do You Sleep” by Sam Smith. His tender opening prompted quick chair turns from Kelly Clarkson and John Legend. He showed off nice power and range throughout the performance. John said he loved Darious’ low range and the runs he did. Kelly liked the story-teller quality of his vocals and called Darious “a very talented singer. Darious went with Team John.

More about Darious:

* He says he grew up singing in a church setting — his father was a pastor, but also spent a lot of time at the hair salon where his mom worked and would sing to a mirror while there. Patrons complimented him on his singing, and he said his mom was always supportive, taking him to recitals and music lessons.

* Darious credits his father for introducing him to music. “He sang with Sam Cooke a few times and told me how inspired he was from that and handed the legacy down to me.”

* He continued with music through high school, forming a boy band called Changes with close friends Kenneth Ellis and Dontrell Bell. Darious said they had a few songs that did well on MySpace.

* At age 18, he got a random phone call from a woman he didn’t know when he was 18. She said she was his biological mother. After talking to his parents, Darious learned he was adopted.

* Flash forward 12 years, and Darious said he’s reconnected with his biological mother Yolanda — indeed, she attended his blind audition — and is grateful to have her in his life since both of his adoptive parents have passed from medical conditions.

* As for music, he produced a song called “Right Amount of Wrong” with EDM DJ Gianni Blu. That song has been streamed more than 2.4 million times on Spotify. He’s a featured vocalist on a couple of other tracks by Blu.

* As D. Lylez, he released an R&B album called “Alone” in 2015 and a pair of singles — “Who Cares” and “Feel Good” in 2019. “‘Feel Good’ is one of my favorite songs that I produced and written,” Darious told Voice Views. “I love the Isley Brothers and I love what Ice Cube did to one of their songs. So I decided to make my own version while paying homage to the legendary group.” You can check out the song below.

* Darious has also been performing with a Chicago-based band called 2nd Nature for the past four years and working as a substitute teacher for the past two years.

* He says his musical inspirations include Marvin Gaye, Usher and Bobby Caldwell, adding “Marvin Gaye is the best of all time.”

See also …
Darious Lyles talks about his blind audition on The Voice

Darious on social media:
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube