Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Johnny Rez, a former contestant on The Voice, auditioned for Season 16 of American Idol.

Monday will mark the fourth blind audition episode of American Idol on ABC as judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan decide who deserves golden tickets to the Hollywood round.

Here’s more about Johnny Rez, another contestant fans of singing shows might recognize.

* Johnny is a 27-year-old pop, soul, acoustic artist based in Miami, Fla., and the son of parents who were born in Cuba.

* Johnny appeared on Season 11 of The Voice, turning two chairs with his blind audition song (“Iris” by the Goo Goo Dolls.” He joined Team Adam Levine, but was eliminated in the battle round.

* In a YouTube video called “My Story,” talks about how he wound up in “a dark place” following high school. He was arrested four times, involved in three accidents, spent a short stint in prison and six months on house arrest.

* He says he turned his life around by turning to God and putting his focus on music, something he really hadn’t explored much until after high school.

* Prior to his stint on The Voice, Johnny was working as an IT specialist at Miami Christian School, a school he used to attend. When Voice Views interviewed Johnny about about a year ago, he was still working there.

* Since The Voice, Johnny has released a series of singles — both in English and Spanish — to Spotify. Among them, “Lost in Love,” which landed just last month and which you can check out below.

* Two of those songs — “Lifted High” and “Nothing Ever Felt Better” — are from a French film called “The Lachance Kids.” Johnny even went to Paris to help celebrate the film’s release.

* Johnny told WPLG in Florida that auditioning for American Idol seemed a natural next step, especially since his parents are fans of the show. “It’s one of those things, whenever I go home, it’s on.”

* He performed Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You” for his audition. And to help himself stand out, he started he song in English, then finishes it in Spanish.

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