Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: James Pyle, 30, of West Hills, Calif., auditioned with “Watermelon Sugar” by Harry Styles. By the time he auditioned, Blake, Kelly and Gwen had already filled their teams. John Legend listened to the first verse, then turned as soon as James hit the chorus. John called it “a masterful performance.” The other coaches made it clear James would not have been a one-chair turn if they had spots remaining on their teams.

Here’s more about James:

* Raised in West Hills, Calif, he now lives in Columbus, Ohio, with his wife and two young children.

* James grew up in a musical family. His mother sang in choir and recognized his vocal skills, but James told The Voice he kept his vocal ability a secret until he was about 20.

* Instead, his musical focus was the drums, which he started playing around age 10. He says he played drums in the chapel and jazz bands at the Christian high school he attended.

* His voice bio says he turned more toward singing and song-writing when he lost his mother to cancer at age 18.

* James told The Voice he’d done just a handful of gigs prior to his blind audition performance.

* He released a five-song EP called “Attachments” in February. James told Voice Views that marked “a monumental achievement for me … I had to pick up so many skills to put something out I was proud of.” He recorded, produced and mixed the entire EP himself.

* James calls the EP a hodge-podge of the best songs he’s written since age 20. “One song ‘Kind of Love’ I wrote driving down the freeway in California and recorded in my dad’s studio. Another ‘Show Me How To Love You’ I recorded entirely on my iPhone.”

* He said he realized not many spots remained when he auditioned, but wasn’t aware just one spot remained on the show. Knowing that, James said, probably would have just made him more nervous. “I was already getting nervous hoping that I would at least have a chance to get up and sing after working on my audition song for so long.”

* As for his choice of audition song, James told Voice Views: +I was trying to represent myself and my style in the best way possible and I feel like ‘Watermelon Sugar’ is perfect. I’m a goofy, fun-loving guy, and that song just made me want to dance and have fun. I felt like if I could deliver the song and represent who I am and who I want to be as an artist and performer. it would shine through.”

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