Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Nathan Chester of The Voice Season 25

The Voice returns to ABC on Monday, Feb. 26 with a coaching quartet of John Legend, Chance the Rapper, Reba McEntire and Dan + Shay.

Here’s more about Nathan.

* He’s a versatile artist, born in Chicago and raised in Orlando, Fla.

* And 14 years ago, when he was just 14, he auditioned for The Voice, but failed to turn a chair.

* In an Instagram post, Nathan recalls returning home “seriously motivated … I found myself working harder and being more excited to explore live performance and singing,” he writes.

* He’s done plenty of both in the time in between, with considerable experience as a cover singer and in musical theater.

* He’s currently co-founder of EM&N Productions with his musical and romantic partner Emily Viancourt.

* They’ve done a show together called “Ebony and Ivory: A Jazzy Affair” on Celebrity Cruises for at least a year, judging from Emily’s Instagram page.

* EM&N Productions now has a new duo show called “Cruise Control,” promising to bring audiences “some of the best soul and Motown music ever written.”

* According to Nathan’s bio on the Crane River Theater site, his passion for music stems back to his days performing with the show choir at Oak Park and River Forest High School in the Chicago suburbs.

* He went on to study voice at Waldorf University and musical theater and dance at the University of Central Missouri.

* His musical theater experience includes roles in productions of “Rock of Ages,” “9 to 5,” “The Wizard of Oz” and “Hairspray.”

* In 2019, he was part of a new musical called “Starry” that played at Feinstein’s 54 Below in New York. The play was based on letters between Vincent Van Gogh and his brother, Theo. The musical resulted in a cast album released in November of 2020.

* He was performing as Joe Viba at the time, landed the role of Theo and is featured on nine of the albums tracks. He also released music under that name. Three of his singles are still available; a 2020 EP doesn’t appear to be.

* And remember that motivation Nathan mentioned after his first Voice audition? Well, he’s been working full-time as a singer since at least 2018, according to his Linked In profile.

Nathan on social media:
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