Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Grant Ganzer, 16, of Johnston, Iowa, auditioned with “Unaware” by Allen Stone. Blake Shelton turned when he hit a high note on the first run-through of the chorus. Grant says Blake complimented him on the soul in hs voice and the passion he put into the song.

His background: Grant was part of a montage segment, so we didn’t get to see a pre-performance package on his background. But the show’s website says he’s been singing and playing guitar since age 5 and has now decided he’d like to make a career of music. Since there aren’t a lot of musical opportunities in suburban Iowa, he’s hoping The Voice can take him to the next level.

What the show didn’t show: Grant is a junior at Johnston High School and has performed as a soloist with the school choir. “In school, I wasn’t like the most athletic kid, and that’s what most of the kids were striving for. So in choir class, when I found out that I could hold a pitch and keep a rhythm and people noticed that, well, I just kind of ran with it.” He describes Allen Stone as his biggest influence for the last year or two and has a number of Allen Stone covers on his YouTube channel. “I like to take bits and pieces of what he does and make my own sound. I want to make passionate, soulful music,” he said in a conference call with the media. “I started singing pop music just because that was the style that I heard most. But when I found some neo soul artists, I really fell in love with the style.” As it turns out, those YouTube videos are responsible for his stint on The Voice. A casting agent for the show saw them and invited him to audition. In a local radio interview, Grant recalls sharing that information with his mom. “She said, ‘Are you sure that’s for real?'” Sure enough, it was. The secret to his blind audition success? Perform for the audience, not the chairs. “It’s a really good way to psych yourself out if you just perform to those turned-around chairs,” he said. When he’s not singing or attending school, Grant is an apprentice to the worship leader at his church.

Update: In the battle round, he went up against John Martin, a three-chair turn recipient, and scored an upset victory. They performed OneRepublic’s “Stop and Stare.” He performed “Apologize” by OneRepublic in the knockout round, but lost to Reagan James and was eliminated from the show.

On iTunes: Just his audition song.

Keeping up with Grant:
Twitter: @GrantGanzer
Facebook
YouTube

“Too Close” (cover)

“Skipping Stone” (cover)

“Give Me Love” (cover)