Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Jaylen Dunham, 14, Charlotte, N.C., “Listen” by Beyonce: Jaylen opens sounding more maure than you’d expect from someone so young. He showed off nice power too, but no one turned. All the coaches are shocked when they realize it was a 14-year-old boy singing the song. Gwen Stefani loved his control and his potential and wound up pushing her replay button for Jaylen.

Here’s more about Jayden:

* He’s a talented young singer from Charlotte, N.C., who turned 14 in April and posted photos of his eighth-grade formal later that month.

* Just beginning high school, he’s already gone viral on TikTok, where he has 100,000 followers and 3.8 million likes.

* He also has more than 1 million views on three different singing videos he’s posted there.

* Jaylen’s most popular post — which you can check out below — features him singing Olivia Rodrigo’s “Vampire.” It’s been viewed 9.8 million times.

* His bio lists him as a singer and actor, because he’s also appeared in commercials and had minor roles in a couple of TV shows and films.

* And he’s been active in musical theater, including performances of “Frozen,” “Moana,” “Hairspray” and “Annie Jr.”

* But his first love is singing, and he performed Beyonce’s “Listen” at Amateur Night at the Apollo in New York in September 2023, earning a 96 score in audience approval and winning the competition on the night he sang.

* At the time, that was the largest stage and the largest crowd Jayden had performed for. In a Color Me Artist interview, he says he still gets nervous at the start of performances — especially once as important as that — but finds the nerves disappear once he gets caught up in the song.

* Jaylen’s also performed the national anthem for the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets in March and will be doing it again on Dec. 28 when the Hornets host the OKC Thunder.

* He’s been singing since age 2 and, in that Podcast interview, says one of his first big public performances was singing “Hallelujah” in an elementary school talent show. He won, of course.

Jaylen on social media:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube

@jaylenddunham Just a boy and his dog 😆 🤦‍♀️ #fypシ #fyp #singing #vampire #kids #cute #oliviarodrigo #trending #love #music #viralvideos #sing #jaylenddunham #charlotte #nc #dog #kidsoftiktok #artist @Olivia Rodrigo @Elevate Clothing Brand ♬ original sound – Jaylen Dunham🙌