Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Jaukeem Fortson, 14, Elderton, Ga., “Easy on Me” by Adele: Dang. That’s a big voice for a guy who was only 13 when he auditioned. And three chairs — Michael Buble, Reba McEntire and Snoop Dogg turn very quickly. Jaukeem is showing off some pretty impressive vocal gymnastics too. Reba said she blew his socks off. Gwen Stefani, who loves young singers, is clearly disappointed she didn’t turn. Michael said he couldn’t turn fast enough. Snoop complimented Jaukeem on his professionalism and his voice. Jaukeem decided to join Team Reba.

Here’s more about Fortson:

* He completed eighth grade at Elbert County Middle School in Georgia in the spring and is already a celebrated singer.

* In the summer of 2023, he won the performing arts category at the National Beta Club Convention in Louisville, Kentucky. He beat out 55 other contestants for that honor.

* Jaukeem performed Andra Day’s “Rise Up” in the first round of the competition and got a perfect score from judges. He received a standing ovation when he performed the song for the victory.

* The school’s Beta Club sponsor Angela Scoggins told The Elberton Star that the reaction was so incredible “it took him 26 minutes to get back to his seat. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

* Jaukeem followed that up by winning Season 4 of a Christian singing competition called the Hallelujah Auditions in May. The win came with a $20,000 first prize. He performed “Trust in God” by Elevation Worship.

* The difference is that this time around, he was competing against mostly adults. In fact, he was the youngest singer ever to make it to the Top 10 of that competition. In an interview with the Called Forth Podcast, Jaukeem said he never hesitated to enter because, while he’d competed as a singer before, this was the first opportunity he’d come across to participate in a Christian singing competition. Check out his performance below.

* Jaukeem gave his first public performance at age 2. He remembers his mother and aunt standing him up on a table in the Baptist church they attended. He responded by delivering a full gospel song. People “were shocked,” he said, “that a 2-year-old was up there, just singing for the Lord.” He’s been singing in churches ever since.

* Jaukeem now also plays piano, a skill he started learning at age 8. He’s self-taught as a singer and pianist; he’s never had a singing or piano lesson, says his mom, Lashanna Allen.

* One of Jaukeem’s musical inspirations is Christian singer and worship leader Allison Aldrich. Says Jaukeem: “She’s a person who went through a lot of anxiety and depression and wrote Christian music to get through her struggles. She’s helped me through some of my struggles as well.” What’s more, Allison traveled from Florida to show up at Jaukeem’s 13th birthday party in 2023.

* Jaukeem was still just 13 when his Voice blind audition was filmed over the summer. He turned 14 in late August, but that will still make him one of the youngest contestants on Season 26.

* He’s a freshman at Elbert County Comprehensive High School in Elberton, Ga. The school hosted a watch party for the season premiere and continues to do so until his audition airs. It appears that will happen Tuesday night.

* Jaukeem’s TikTok — called Jaukeem Fortson Worship — already has 12,000 followers and nearly 150,000 likes.

Jaukeem on social media:
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