Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Blind audition: Gabe Broussard, 15, of Lafayette, La., auditioned with “Lonely Night in Georgia” by Marc Broussard. For someone so young, Gabe delivered a really strong opening to his performance, prompting an almost immediate chair turn from Blake Shelton. As Gabe neared the end of the performance, Miley Cyrus turned too. Miley complimented him on an “amazing voice” and said he sounds older than 15. Adam and Alicia admitted they made a mistake in not turning. Gabe joined Team Blake.

His background: Gabe said he knew he wanted to sing from when he was a little kid humming show tunes in the back of his mom’s car. At age 12, he started attending a rock camp, which he calls “so awesome” because he got to learn medleys of Beatles songs. He’s now in a high school band called Strange Theories. He’s no relation with Marc Broussard, but got to sing with him at a rock camp. He also suffers from a rare eye disease that could someday threaten his vision.

What the show didn’t show:
* At age 15 when he auditioned, Gabe is the youngest contestant to land a spot on Season 11 of The Voice.
* In his Facebook bio, he says he begged his parents for a guitar when he was 6 years old, but they thought he was too young. They finally gave in when he was 8 and bought him an electric guitar.
* He took lessons at the Acadiana School of the Arts and was invited to be in his first band — one called “Fat Tuna — when he was just 11.
* His grandmother moved in with his parents when he was 13 and brought along her piano. “I fell in love with piano immediately and haven’t stopped working to improve me skills,” he writes on Facebook.
* He’s currently a lead vocalist and plays rhythm guitar and keyboards for a band called Strange Theories, which also includes Parker Ardoin, Lane Foreman and Stephan Palumbo.
* Strange Theories released a four-track rock EP called “Conspiracy” in April. “Worthy” is among the tracks definitely worth checking out.
* As for his choice of Blake as coach on The Voice, during a conference call with the media, Gabe admitted both coaches who turned were giving him amazing reasons why he should join their teams. “I think what made me go with Blake was just I had a gut feeling that I should go with him,” Gabe said. “And I thought I should follow it.”
* And don’t think for a minute that Gabe is abandoning his band because of The Voice. In fact, they were playing a show this weekend with another Season 11 contestant from Louisiana, Lane Mack.

Keeping up with Gabe:
Twitter: @BroussardGabe
Facebook
Facebook (Strange Theories)
YouTube