Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Blind audition: Josh Halverson, 31, of West, Texas, auditioned with Bob Dylan’s “Forever Young.” The performance was a bit laid back, but Josh’s voice was one of the more unique in Season 11. At the last minute, Blake Shelton, Alicia Keys and Miley Cyrus all turned their chairs. Miley said she loves listening to Josh’s voice. Alicia called his voice “striking” and said she thinks something “powerful” could result if they worked together. Josh joined Team Alicia.

His background: His mom is a Sioux Indian, which explains his son’s name, Thunderbird, a powerful symbol in the native American culture. Josh has been working cattle on his dad’s ranch since he was 12. But his dad says Josh has always been more artistic. Josh learned to play piano when he was 5, began playing the guitar and wrote his first song when he was 21. He travels around Texas performing as a singer-songwriter, but says it’s tough to find gigs that pay enough to support his family. “The Voice would give me the opportunity to do what I’m supposed to do and play music,” Josh says.

What the show didn’t show:
* On Facebook, he classifies his music as Americana, folk, singer-songwriter.
* As major influences, he lists Jim Croce, John Denver, George Jones, Merle Haggard, Jackson Browne, Dwight Yoakum, Patty Griffin and Paul Simon.
* His website bio says it was an Al Green concert he attended while in college that convinced Josh to pursue music. “Green was so transparent onstage, as if he put his heart and soul on the table for the audience to see. I thought to myself, ‘This is what I’m supposed to do with my life.’”
* The next day, according to that bio, Josh began to teach himself guitar and write his own songs.
* Josh released a 10-track album called “One Shot” in 2013. If you liked his twist on “Forever Young,” you should give it a listen. Among the standout tracks are the title song, “Take Me to Forever” (both embedded below) and “I Did It for You.”
* During a conference call with the media, he said his first instinct on The Voice was to join Team Blake. But he said he listened closely to everything all three coaches who turned had to say. “Music to me is – it’s a lot bigger than just performing a song. It’s spreading love and truth and light through music. And so I think – I mean I just felt Alicia had that – has that same vision with her music and then also as a coach I think she can really inspire and influence me to accomplish that goal better.”

Keeping up with Josh:
Twitter: @jhalversonmusic
Website
Facebook
YouTube