Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Their audition: Letter to Elise, Buffalo, New York, performed “Take on Me” by A-Ha: Elliott Hunt delivered a wonderful opening and the duo performed a delightfully different cover of the song. That prompted quick chair turns from Reba McEntire and Snoop Dogg. The guys delivered a nice ending too. Reba loved their harmonies. Snoop Dogg loved their performance. Niall complimented the harmonies too and thought it might be more than two singers. Letter to Elise joined Team Reba.

Here’s more about Letter to Elise:

* On The Voice, Letter to Elise will be a duo — lead singer and guitarist Elliott Hunt, 27, and keyboard player vocalist Chris Lillis, 30.

* In real life, Letter to Elise is a five-piece alternative rock band that also includes Jon Gordner on lead guitar, Walter Galey on bass and Marcus Ryan on drums.

* In fact, Letter to Elise will be dropping a five-song EP called “Risen from Rust” on Friday, three days before The Voice premiere.

* It’ll be the latest release from a band that already has an EP out called “Was It Always This Easy?” and a single called “Day Drinking” that you can check out below. In 2023, “Day Drinking” took Best Local Song honors at the Western New York Music Awards. Letter to Elise was named Best New Band.

* One of the two singers auditioning might be familiar to Voice fans. Using the name Chris Fleetwood, Hunt auditioned for Season 27 at age 25.

* In his first-ever performance as a solo artist, he sang “Cough Syrup” the Young The Giant and failed to turn a chair. But Adam Levine said he was close to turning and the coaches encouraged him to return, saying they were sure he was capable of making it onto the show.

* Elliott told BuffaloSpree.com that he grew up in a musical family but didn’t get serious about pursuing music until attending a U2 show on the 20th anniversary of their “Joshua Tree” album.

* Chris, meanwhile, said he took piano lessons as a youth, then stopped and didn’t return to music until meeting Elliott when they attended the same high school.

* They also performed together in another alternative band, Mom Said No, fronted by Tim Jackson.

* Elliott originally formed Letter to Elise after releasing a couple of songs he’d written during the pandemic.

* The band played one show to support that release and didn’t reform until three years later, according to the Letter to Elise website. Former Voice standout Cami Clune was one of the opening acts at the band’s debut show in the spring of 2023.

* On Spotify, the Letter to Elise sound is described as “rustbelt rock ‘n’ roll with a modern edge, blending raw grit with the shimmering synth sound of the 1980s influences.

* Earlier this year, the band collaborated with Robby Takac of the Goo Goo Dolls to release a cover of The Killers’ “Mr. Brightside,” a song that has become a favorite at Buffalo Bills games.

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