Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Matt Snook, 41, of St. Joseph, Missouri, sang Brooks and Dunn’s “Red Dirt Road” in an audition that was part of a montage. He found a home on Team Blake.

His background: According to his Voice bio, Matt has always loved music, but made family his number one priority. He and his high school sweetheart wife, Stephanie, have two children. To support them, Matt spent 17 years at a corporate job. Now he’s decided to pursue music full time.

What the show didn’t show: He jokes that he’s the redneck from Missouri, but he also has the most impressive musical resume among the singers who wound up being montaged during the blind auditions. He started singing in church as a young boy, won his first vocal contest at age 6 and learned the guitar when he was 13. He was still a teen when he completed a studio project that included four songs he wrote. But after high school he took a job with Sprint to support his family and stayed in that job until about seven years ago when he quit to do music full time. He was part of a duo called VandelSnook for a time and has performed country music for nonprofits and for troops overseas in Iraq, Kuwait and Afghanistan. He’s also released a trio of solo EPs, “Hero’s Highway” (2012), “Perfect Sense” (2012) and “Forget” (2013). The title track to the latter is especially good and you can check it out below. “I guess I’m maybe a blend between traditional country and some of the newer country, which I would consider to be rock and pop influenced,” he says.

On landing on Team Blake: “One thing I think I can relate to with Blake is that we are older. I talk a lot, and I like to talk a lot. But when I’m around Blake, I’m listening a lot and catching things (to help me improve).”

On iTunes: All three aforementioned EPs and his audition single.

Update: Matt was matched with fellow country singer Cody Wickline in a Team Blake battle round. They sang Randy Houser’s “How Country Feels.” Blake declared Cody the winner; Matt was eliminated.

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Twitter: @MattSnookMusic

“Hero’s Highway (from 2012 EP of same name)”

“I Won’t Break You” (from 2013 EP)

“Forget” (from 2013 EP)