Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Jake HaldenVang, 24, of Charlotte, N.C., performed “Wish I Knew You.”: Jake delivered a really impressive opening on his cover of the song by The Revivalists and it paid dividends in the form of quick chair turns by Blake Shelton, John Legend and Gwen Stefani. As Gwen noted, his performance lost a bit of steam after that, but still showed great potential. Gwen said she loves his range and the personality in his voice. Jack joined Team Gwen.

Here’s more about Jake.

* From Fort Mill, S.C., he’s been the frontman for a rock band called HaldenVang, though his Voice bio says he’s looking to the show as a chance to launch a solo career.

* He began performing at age 12, learning guitar. By age 13, he was representing Charlotte, N.C., at the International Blues Challenge.

* In his Voice bio, Jake credits his dad, who was a classic rock musician, for encouraging him to learn guitar.

* At age 15, he self-produced an EP called “Tell the Truth.” In 2013, as HaldenVang, he released an EP featuring six original songs called “How About Now.”

* In 2011, he was named artist of the year at Charlotte’s Queen City Music Awards. HaldenVang took band of the year honors at the same awards show in 2016.

* Jake calls his sound “retro relevant rock,” a large dose of rock with a mix of soul, modern R&B and indie pop.

* The band has lots of rock covers on its YouTube channel, plus a new original called “Secrets” that you can check out below.

* Among his inspirations, Jake points to Jimi Hendrix, the Black Crowes, Stevie Wonder, Eric Clapton, John Mayer and Fleetwood Mac.

* Jake says he’s shared the stage with Gregg Allman, Leon Russell, Steve Miller, Marshall Tucker and Artimus Pyle of Lynyrd Skynyrd.

See also …
Jake HaldenVang talks about his blind audition on The Voice

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