Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Josiah Hawley, 27, of Fort Smith, Ala., auditioned with Maroon 5’s “Sunday Morning.” That prompted Blake Shelton to turn around quickly. He was followed by Usher and, eventually, Adam Levine as well. In a bit of a surprise, Josiah joined Team Usher.

Battle Round: Defeated Jeffrey Lewis on their rendition of “Roxanne.”

Knockout Round: He sang “Back to Black” and defeated Jess Kellner, who performed “You Give Me Something.”

Live Playoffs: Performed “Starlight” by the Muse and advanced to the Top 12 when Usher saved him instead of Cathia.

His background: Josiah says his dad was a jazz pianist, sparking his interest in music. He started playing music in church at age 14 and eventually enrolled in the Belmont University School of Music. He’s also worked as a male model, apparently quite successfully. But don’t get too excited ladies. He’s happily married to a gal he met in church and they are now living in L.A.

On picking Usher: “I just knew I was going to go for Adam, and then they started talking, ‘And this is why I turned around and you’re basically this and this,’ and I was just like, ‘I have to choose Usher. If I don’t choose Usher, I’m crazy.’ That’s what I felt in my gut, so that’s what I did.”

What the show didn’t show: Josiah describes his music as pop rock and has performed as Josiah and the Bandits in several videos you can find on YouTube. He also plays guitar and beat-boxes, but says he typically doesn’t use the latter skill on his own music, instead preferring to focus on guitar and his vocals. “The goal is to keep writing, get in the studio, do a record and go on tour and do that consistently,” Josiah says of his career path, adding that regardless of whether he wins The Voice, he’s hoping the exposure is a first step toward that goal. He released a three-song, live unplugged demo EP in September, and you can hear full-length versions of those songs on his Facebook page.

Quote: “It’s been a lot of hard work,” he said of modeling, “but that’s how I’ve been able to pay my bills. But music’s my heart.”

On iTunes: His audition song, “Sunday Morning” and a 3-track live, unplugged EP from 2012.

Keeping up with Josiah
Twitter: @josiahhawley
Facebook
YouTube Channel: None

“Is Anybody Out There”

Performing with The Bandits