Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Joe Tolo, 21, Sacramento, Calif., sang the Bee Gees’ “To Love Somebody.” An excellent opening got Christina Aguilera to turn her chair around in a heartbeat. Near the end of the song, Joe threw in some very nice vocal wrinkles, including a glory note that showed off his range, prompting Blake Shelton to turn around as well. Christina said they’re a match made in heaven. Joe joined Team Christina.

His background: Joe resides in California now, but he’s from American Samoa and says he’s familiar with the traditional songs and dances from there. He’s also the youngest of eight children and says his brothers and sisters all play instruments and sing as well “so I feel they all really helped me grow into the artist I am today.” Joe’s parents split when he was 11, and he says music was a way of dealing with that situation. After high school, he wanted to pursue music, but didn’t know how. Then, in his fourth year of college, he saw a Facebook ad for a Voice boot camp. He wound up winning a makeover and an audition for the show. “This is the greatest opportunity I’ve had in my entire life,” he says.

What the show didn’t show: Not only did his siblings sing, Joe’s father was also a musician, according to samoanews.com. Joe is a student at California State University East Bay where he was a former orientation team member. In his Voice video, he says he’s been singing as long as he can remember. He joined his church worship team at 13 and has been singing in front of people ever since. He’s comfortable singing a cappella and says he prefers R&B and soul music. In a conference call with the media, Joe admits to being intimidated by Christina at first, but says that didn’t last long, calling her “so humble” and “down to earth.” He says he sees the show as a great opportunity to build a fan base. “When I go home, I want to know I’ve learned a lot,” he says. As for that Voice boot camp, he was one of 11 finalists selected from about 2,000 video submissions.

On picking Christina: “Christina was the first person to turn for me. I couldn’t believe it. I went on that stage thinking I wasn’t going to make it. I like to have low expectations so I won’t be that hurt if I get denied. She’s a sweetheart and she gave so much great feedback on my performance and what I have to work on.”

On iTunes: Just his audition song.

Update: He was pitted against Gabriel Wolfchild in the battle round. They sang “For the First Time” in a performance that was part of a montage. Christina declared Joe the winner; Gabriel was eliminated. In the knockout round, he had to go up against India Carney, who turned four chairs with her blind audition. Joe performed “One of Us” by John Osborne, but was eliminated when Christina declared India the winner.

Facebook
YouTube
Twitter: @JoeTolo

All of Me (John Legend cover)

Fly Away (original)