Blind audition: Sundance Head, 37, of Porter, Texas, said he’s not just a country singer in his intro package, then took the stage to prove the point by singing Otis Redding’s “I’ve Been Loving You Too Long.” Adam Levine and Blake Shelton turned their chairs at the first big note in Sundance’s performance. Not surprisingly, the big guy from Texas opted to join Team Blake.
His background: He says his family is “really close.” In his case, that means he and his wife and their three children live with his mom and dad, plus seven dogs and 10 chickens. “If I bring another rescued dog home, I’m going to be sleeping outside with them,” he told The Voice. Sundance’s dad, Roy Head, was a performer who scored a hit with “Treat Her Right” in 1965. Hoping to follow in his footsteps, Sundance was in a band in high school, but then started working in the oil business. But when the industry began laying off employees, he decided to pursue music full-time. He performs three to four times a week with his wife, Misty, booking the shows. In addition to country music, he says he enjoys soul and the blues.
What the show didn’t show:
* Sundance’s name will ring a bell with longtime fans of American Idol. He made the Top 24 on Season 6 of the show back in 2007.
* During a conference call with the media, Sundance admitted he feels like he “squandered the opportunities that I had on American Idol. I was unprepared. I definitely was not ready for what went down. ” He said the show tried to offer guidance and advice and that he realizes now he should have paid more attention to what he was being told.
* Post-Idol, he signed a deal with Universal Motown and recorded some music. “They decided not to release anything, so I just rode the contract out.”
* The current Sundance Head band also includes Dave Walters on bass, and Joe Busa on drums.
* When Sundance told Blake his genre is soul-country, he might as well have been plugging his most recent album of the same name. “Soul Country” is a 14-track album Sundance released in April 2015. Standout tracks include a trio of ballads “Darling Don’t Go,” “Winfield Melodies” and “Fantasies.” You can check out two of the three below.
* Head to iTunes and you’ll discover that Sundance also released an album called “2016 and Gruene” in 2012 and a self-titled EP in 2010.
* Why try another singing show? Sundance said he wants to show his children that it’s important to take risks to achieve something you want. “I think I’ve grown tremendously as a musician, an artist, and a vocalist. And I just wanted to give it another shot if it was possible.”
* Sundance said he intended to choose Adam if he turned around. But he said his mind changed “when the bullets were flying … I started thinking about all the success that Blake’s had in the business and he’s pretty much done everything at this point that I would like to do. He’s such a beautiful human being, a wonderful person, and he’s just happy all the time and he’s got such a positive energy and I wanted to try and capture some of that if it was possible.”
* Sundance’s real first name is James.
* Over the weekend, Sundance was named Male Vocalist of the Year by the Country Music Association of Texas.
Keeping up with Sundance:
Website
Facebook
Twitter: @SundanceHead
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