Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: R. Anthony, 33, of Tampa, Fla., sang “Hall of Fame” by The Script. Christina Aguilera turned well into the performance; Cee Lo Green joined her at the very last moment. Cee Lo said it wasn’t because he was indecisive. It was because he was enjoying the “compelling quality” in R. Anthony’s voice.

Background: He always considered himself the quiet one in the family. But he moved to Tampa for college and formed “an up-and-coming gospel” trio with his best friend and older brother. “We gigged everywhere. It was phenomenal.” Then came marriage and a baby. “I knew I needed to close down shop (musically),” R. Anthony told The Voice. “I needed to focus on family.” He got a real job in customer service, until his wife told him it was time for him to try music again.

On choosing Cee Lo: “In the back of my mind, I really wanted to do some work with Cee Lo. And he made some comments when he spoke to me that really hit home with me. We kind of share a similar background, similar makeup in terms of our involvement in the church and ministry. So Cee Lo really connected with me.”

What the show didn’t show: His full name is Renard Anthony Edwards and the gospel group he belonged to was called Ordained. There’s a three-track EP on iTunes that features an a cappella version of “Amazing Grace” and is probably his group. R. Anthony put out a solo 3-track EP in 2009 called “The Ministry of R. Anthony.” You can listen to six of his songs on his Facebook page and download three of them from there as well. According to his Facebook bio, R. Anthony placed first in the annual Waves of Glory competition in Orlando, Fla., in 2011 and recently helped pen a single called “For All Eternity” for jazz artist Nate Mitchell.

Quote: “I see Cee Lo as this guy, totally breaking me down, totally just strengthening who I am and making me a more creative artist. I’m extremely excited to be working with Cee Lo. We’re about to make history.”

On iTunes: The aforementioned EP and the studio version of his Voice audition song.

Keeping up with R. Anthony: On Twitter — @RAnthonyMusic — Facebook — YouTube — Website

For profiles of other Season 5 contestants, go here.

R. Anthony, “Pull Me Through” cover

R. Anthony, “He’s in My Corner” (original)