Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: John Martin, 25, of Chicago, Ill., auditioned with a quirky version of Amos Lee’s “Sweet Pea.” He delivered an especially fine ending but, by that time, Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and Pharrell Williams were facing in his direction. Blake complimented his “cool.” Gwen called him the complete package — “super cute” with a “delicious” voice. In spite of such praise, John joined Team Blake.

His background: John works for a shipping supply company as a forklift operator who also packs boxes. “When I’m not at work, I’m doing gigs at random bars and house parties on the side,” he says. “If I had a choice, I’d be doing music full time, for sure.” He got into music playing at his church with his dad, a pastor. He went to college for music, but ended up moving back home because his dad lost his job. He had been majoring in digital media with a piano and guitar emphasis.

What the show didn’t show: During a conference call interview, John said he was raised on Christian music. Then his mom sneaked him a Beatles album and a Nat King Cole album, and that marked his introduction to secular music. When he started writing songs, he admits he gravitated toward “cheesy pop.” “I’m not a deep writer when I write music,” he admits. “I don’t have a ginormous vocabulary. It’s just easier for me to write cheesy love music. Plus it’s just super popular. I love listening to it, so it just comes naturally.” His inspirations include Eric Clapton, John Mayer and Gavin DeGraw. His dad teaches music, John said in a radio interview, and John said he’s played music most of his life. But he only started singing two or three years ago. Picking Blake was something of a strategic move on John’s part. “I’ve always admired Blake’s coaching methods on the show. He’s always super encouraging.” Plus, Pharrell has been stocking his team with powerhouse singers and, being a non-country artist, John said he thought he might stand out more on Team Blake. Heck, he says he wouldn’t even mind trying a country song on the show.

Update: John was eliminated from the show when he lost a battle round match to Grant Ganzer. They sang OneRepublic’s “Stop and Stare.”

On iTunes: Just his audition song.

Keeping up with John:
Twitter: @iamjohnmartin1
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