Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Peyton Kyle, 26, of Gainesville, Ga., performed “Talking to the Moon” by Bruno Mars. Peyton had to have an emergency appendectomy prior to his audition. Fortunately, he was able to recover in time to try out. He dislayed a very nice voice. And a big moment in the middle of the song prompted a chair turn from Reba McEntire. She wound up being the only coach to turn, though Niall Horan said he was close to doing so. Reba called the performance sweet and heartfelt. Michael Buble said Kyle has a great voice. Kyle automatically joined Team Reba.

Here’s more about Peyton:

* He’s Peyton Kyle Lane, a pop, soul and R&B singer from Tampa, Fla., who’s now based in Buford, Ga.

* He told American Idol Unaired that he left Florida and a stable job as a window and door salesman in 2022 for an opportunity to pursue music full time.

* And, yep, that means he’s a former Idol contestant, one of a handful of Season 21 (2023) singers from the show who will appear on the new season of The Voice.

* In Peyton’s case, he said he got to audition in front of the superstar judges on his fourth attempt at Idol. He sang Callum Scott’s “You Are the Reason” and received positive feedback from all of the judges, especially for his vocal control.

* He was eliminated during Hollywood Week and none of his performances aired, but he still called auditioning for the show an “extremely positive” experience and one that helped him land more performance opportunities.

* He said one of his most memorable moments was a mentoring session with Clay Aiken, who helped him with pointers on his performance, then Facetimed Peyton’s mom because she’s such a big fan of the Season 2 runner-up.

* As for his own music, Peyton has five singles available on streaming sites dating back to 2020. He released two songs — “I Caught Fire” and a cover of Cam’s “Burning House” — in 2024. The latter is a collaboration with Sarah Mootz that you can check out below.

* “I Caught Fire,” meanwhile, is a punk/rock song by The Used that Peyton reimagined with the help of Glass Palace, turning it into a wedding song for two good friends.

* He often performs with a band as Quiet Fire. During his Idol audition, Katy Perry described him as a “quiet fire” because he was vocally impressive without being vocally boisterous.

* We’ll have to see how Peyton’s time on The Voice goes, but in June he wrote about a “very traumatic experience” — the need for an emergency appendectomy “in the middle of an amazing opportunity to further my career.”

* He’s makes the comment in a post the includes an impressive cover of “I’m Still Fine” by the Red Clay Strays, saying it’s a song that “has gotten me through a few tough moments in life, but this is the biggest.”

Peyton on social media:
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