Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Taylor Deneen, 23, of Oklahoma City, Okla., performed “Redbone” by Childish Gambino. Her sultry opening got a quick chair turn from John Legend. Gwen Stefani turned just a couple of lines later. Those were the only two chairs Taylor could have turned; Niall Horan and Reba McEntire had already filled their teams. John said the performance kept getting better and better. Gwen loved the refreshing feminine tone in her voice. Taylor opted to join Team Legend. John called her the best soul singer on Season 24.

Here’s more about Taylor:

* On her website, Taylor says she started singing at age 6 and started producing her own original songs by age 16.

* She also learned multiple instruments, including clarinet and saxophone and taught herself to play piano.

* A 2017 graduate of Carl Albert High School in Midwest City, Okla., she received a full scholarship to attend the Berklee College of Music. On her website, she says she’s the only student from Oklahoma to have ever done so.

* In 2019, she was a winner of the Berklee Voice Department’s Outstanding Performer Award. She graduated in 2021 with a dual bachelor’s degree in professional music and contemporary writing and production.

* She began releasing her own music in 2020 and has four singles out on streaming sites — debut single “Runnin’,” “Personal,” “All You Need” and “Rearview.” You can check out the lyric video for
“Rearview,” her most recent single, below.

* On her website, she describes her sound as “a blend of classic soul and nuanced, contemporary r&b/neo-soul, sprinkled with tiny delicacies of pop.”

* She’s also a featured vocalist on a pair of singles released this year, “Bloom” by Rotund and “Oxygen” by Hannibal.

* After graduation, she returned to Oklahoma and has been busy performing at community celebrations in her home state. In February, she performed an Ella Fitzgerald tribute in Lawton, Okla.

* She said other musical inspirations include Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, Jill Scot and D’Angelo.

* Taylor also writes tailored compositions for people through Songfinch and demonstrated her talents in that regard during her Voice audition, singing a song about the song and including lyrics specific to each of the coaches.

Taylor on social media:
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