Idol Chatter & Voice Views

George Horga Jr. nabbed a spot on Team Cee Lo on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Background: George told us his parents moved to the U.S. from Romania, not even knowing English, and wound up building “amazing businesses from absolutely nothing, just the pure drive of ‘I’m in America. It’s the nation of dreams.'” George’s dream is to be a singer, so he broke with Romanian tradition and moved out of his family’s home at 18 and moved to Hollywood. “It was the hardest thing I’ve ever done,” George said.

On being on Team Cee Lo: “It ended up being an amazing fit. Cee Lo’s just a little more in my edge and what I needed — a little bit of the pop, a little bit of the soul.”

What the show didn’t show: In his Voice bio, we learn that George’s first exposure to music was in the Romanian church and through his uncle’s group, “The Messengers.” George’s Facebook bio says he was a drummer in church, then learned to play the trumpet in high school and wound up being part of a state champion school band. That prompted him to learn the guitar and piano and pursue a solo singing carer. He has a song called “Lovesick Mashup” available as a free download from bandcamp.com, and an original called “Gone” available for download through his Facebook page. It’s billed as “first original track and much more to come.” Beside genres on Facebook, George lists hip-hop, dance, pop, electronic and acoustic.

Quote: “I don’t have another job. I do music, music, music, and I’ve been doing that for a very long time. I’m part of the top 48 (on The Voice). It gives me confidence that everything I’ve worked for is worth it. My move from home, my training, my hours of just getting things right is worth it.”

On iTunes: His Voice audition song.

Keeping up with George: On Twitter — @Georgehorgajr — Facebook — YouTube

For profiles of other Season 5 contestants, go here.

George Horga Jr., “Lovesick Mashup” (available as free download)

George Horga Jr., “The Prayer” (an original)