Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Gyth Rigdon, 25, of Singer, La., auditioned with “Drift Away” by Dobie Gray. Blake Shelton turned almost immediately. Kelly and John turned as well, but John was blocked by Blake. Kelly calls Gyth’s performance style “fearless.” Blake compared him to Garth Brooks. Gyth picked Team Blake,

More about Gyth:

* He grew up on a horse farm, raised by his single father. That meant getting up at 5 a.m. on a typical morning to help with feeding, washing and training 27 horses.

* That said, he stepped away from music around age 9 and didn’t return until he was 15. He recalls a camping trip where his dad and brothers were playing their guitars and singing. “I realized how much I missed music. I told myself I would learn to play. Once I started, my passion and drive grew stronger and stronger.”

* Two years later he had his first bar gig at a place called Daiquiri Station in Leesville, La. “I had heard the bar was full of bikers and they were quick to tell an artist to go home if they weren’t good … so you can imagine how nervous I was. I had no idea what I was going to do, until it hit me: all bikers love Lynyrd Skynyrd. The first song I played was ‘Simple Man.’ Now … it’s one of my favorites to play.”

* Gyth has already released county music, two albums worth in fact. And a song called “Body Language” off his 2016 debut album, “Where I Began” has more than 900,000 streams on Spotify. The song also became a music video, which you can check out here.

* Gyth, now based in Nashville, released his second album — “When I’m Gone” — in September. It features 10 songs based on his life experiences. “People will relate to these songs, they will cry with them and they will party with them,” he says on his website. Below, you can check out the music video for “Way Down,” the lead track on that album. Also be sure to check out an excellent ballad called “You’re the One.”

* In 2017, Gyth made the Top 10 in a Nash Next competition sponsored by Cumulus Media and Big Machine Label Group. Radio Romance, a four-piece band, won the competition.

* Over the years, Gyth has gained an impressive following on social media, including more than 70,000 followers on Facebook and more than 10,000 on Instagram. Meanwhile, Whiskey Riff called him “the sexiest voice you’ve never heard.” That might change with the help of The Voice.

* Gyth told Voice Views Season 16 isn’t his first time trying out for the show. “I auditioned for The Voice several years ago and was told ‘no.’ But it was a good thing because it fueled me to work harder and be better! Honestly, I’m glad I was told no, cause looking back now, I wasn’t ready.”

* As for why he chose Team Blake, Gyth said: “I felt like I would have done well on Kelly’s team as well cause I’m a huge fan of hers, but I felt Blake and I could really get along. He’s a jokester, hard worker, outdoorsman, hunter, fisherman, etc., and I am all of those things as well, so I felt like we could really relate.”

On social media:
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Website
Twitter: @GythRigdon
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