Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Noah Lis, 22, of Palmer, Mass., performed a smooth version of “Me and Mrs. Jones.” Midway through the song, he started adding some of his own unique touches. But it wasn’t until the very last second that Blake Shelton and Adam Levine turned their chairs. Blake said he loved the song choice. After a spirited debate, Noah joined Team Blake.

His background: Noah showed up at the Voice blind auditions saying he wanted to re-introduce the old jazz and pop standards, but put a new take on them. He was 6 when he started taking piano lessons and fell in love with music. He was in ninth grade when he started his own business, booking musical events. He now performs close to 250 events per year. His mother describes him as “an old soul.” Noah says his grandfather was a major musical influence; he died last year. Among the artists who inspire him: Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra.

On choosing Blake: “Blake said it perfectly last night. He said that to be a jazz crooner, you need to be able to not give a crap. And there’s some truth to that.” He also liked the fact that Blake suggested he could “rough up” his performances a bit. “I thought it was a little safe and plain and vanilla,” Noah said of his audition.

What the show didn’t show: Noah is a senior and music major at Westfield State University. He also started playing saxophone at a young age and is a member of the university’s wind symphony, big band and jazz ensemble, according to his website bio. He released two CDs when he was younger — “Simple Things” from 2006 includes covers of classics like “Blue Moon” and “I’ll be There;” “The Gift” from 2008 is a Christmas album recorded with vocalist Traci Mnich. Head to the homepage of that website and go to the music player on the lower right and you can hear some of Noah’s originals and covers of songs like “Free Fallin'” and “Come Sail Away.” Noah says when he writes music, it’s often in the pop, singer/songwriter vein. “So I kind of want to explore both ends and see if I can really capture the essence of both those genres in one, very similarly to how Michael Buble does it.” His website also says he auditioned for American Idol three times and made the third round of America’s Got Talent in 2008.

Quote:“I certainly hope it works to my advantage being unique and different because there isn’t every day that you see a 22 year old singing, you know, older style music. But that’s the music I grew up with and that’s the music that really speaks to me. And I just hope that I can speak to America and the masses with what I’m trying to do.”

On iTunes: Just his audition song, though his two previous CDs are available through his website.

Update: He lost to Kaleigh Blanton in the battle round; they sang they sang Michael Buble’s “Everything.”

Keeping up with Noah:
Twitter: @Noah_Lis
Facebook
YouTube
Website

Editor’s Note: For links to profiles of all the Season 6 artists on The Voice, go here.

“Dance with Me” (an original)

“Just the Way You Are”

“Moon River”