Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Nic Hawk, 26, of Dallas, auditioned with a version of Blu Cantrell’s “Hit ‘Em Up Style,” enticing Adam to spin his chair very early in the song. Cee Lo followed suit when Nic hit a big note near the end. But as much as the two judges complimented his singing, Nic will most likely be remembered as the guy who told Adam he wasn’t sure he should join his team “because I don’t know if I’ll be able to focus because you’re so good looking.” In the end, Nic decided to take that chance.

His background: Nic started off by introducing himself to viewers as a mix of Amy Winehouse and Jessie J, “except the male version, obviously.” He went on to explain that he’d been traveling the country performing in musicals — 25 over a 7-year span — “which was pretty awesome.” Then he returned to Dallas to help his mother and her son, who suffers from epilepsy. He took a job bartending and a part-time job teaching hip-hop dance — yep, even twerking — to help make ends meet.

On picking Adam: “Something told me that I just had to pick Adam,” Nic said in a conference call interview the day after his audition aired. “And I really don’t think it was his good looks. It was — honestly, I felt like he fought for me more in that situation. And he turned around so quick; I had to keep that in mind, too.”

What the show didn’t show: Nic tried out for American Idol five times and never made the cut. What was the difference this time around? “Honestly, I think it’s just a timing thing. I think that it took me a while to discover what kind of music I really loved to sing. And so I think I was just going in there (during Idol auditions) and singing songs that I thought people wanted to hear as opposed to songs that I loved to sing.” The Voice format is better suited for him, as well, Nic said, especially in terms of the blind auditions. “I’m the kind of person you’d look at and you really don’t expect the kind of voice to come out of me that does.”

Quote: “I knew from the beginning that I wanted people to know that I was gay from the start. It’s a part of me, but it’s not all of me.”

On iTunes: Only his Voice performance at this point.

Keeping up with Nic: Twitter — @MrNicHawk — Facebook.

Nic Hawk, “We Found Love”