Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His blind audition: Dave Fenley, 39, of Nashville, Tenn., auditioned with Travis Tritt’s “Help Me Hold On.” His gruff vocals had Kelly Clarkson turning around after the first two lines. By the time Dave hit the chorus, Blake Shelton had turned as well. Blake gave Dave kudos for his song selection. Dave opted to join Team Blake.

His background: Dave says some of his earliest memories are listening to country music on the radio with his dad. He dropped out of school, a decision that didn’t thrill his parents, but he eventually reached the point where he was gigging enough to make ends meet. He also praises his wife for the support she’s shown for his pursuit of a career in music.

On choosing Blake: After his performance, Dave said his mom wanted a hug from Blake. As part of his pitch to land Dave, Blake said he gives those, to members of his team. “The whole neck hug thing was totally genuine. Like she wanted it so bad. And I had a good feeling that I wanted to go that way just for her. But Kelly was so sweet and so convincing and it really did make it hard. I think in my gut I knew where I wanted to go, and I think that’s why I chose Blake.”

What the show didn’t show:

* He was born and raised in Lufkin, Texas, where he sang in the children’s choir of the Southern Baptist church he attended.

* First drawn to country music, Dave says he learned to appreciate soul as well when his family moved to Canada when he was in high school.

* He began writing songs at age 15, playing the guitar at age 18 and was performing in local bars before he was old enough to drink.

* He’s also released plenty of music in the past decade, beginning with a full-length “Pocket Full of Dirt” album in 2009. Check out how great his gruff vocals sound on the title track and “Music Whore.”

* He followed that up with a 2011 album called “A Minute to Breathe” by Dave Fenley and the Feel Good in 2011.

* He appeared on America’s Got Talent in 2013 and made it to the semifinals. Dave was 34 when he auditioned and performed Ray LaMontagne “Trouble” in the quarterfinals and advanced. He performed the Spice Girls “Say You’ll Be There” in the semifinals and was eliminated. You can still check out those performances on YouTube.

* His most recent released is “The Love Sessions, Vol. 1” a six-track EP that landed about a year ago.

* He’s shared a stage with Dwight Yoakam, Miranda Lambert, and Dierks Bentley.

* In his web bio, he says he takes a “genre-free philosophy” into his shows so fans never know what to expect next.

* Dave is now based in Nashville and, according to his website bio, writes songs for a living.

* Oh, and he wrote a song called “Make America Great Again” that he performed at the 2016 Republican National Convention, just before Donald Trump accepted the party’s nomination for president. Dave talks to Voice Views about that experience, how it came about and whether he’d do it again here. You can check out the performance below.

His social media links:
Website
Facebook
Twitter: @davefenley
Instagram