Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Thunderstorm Artis of American Idol Season 23

Season 23 officially kicks off Sunday, March 9 on ABC. A sneak peek will air Sunday after the Oscars.

Carrie Underwood replaces Katy Perry this season, joining Luke Bryan and Lionel Richie at the Idol judging table.

Here’s more about Thunderstorm.

* If the name rings a bell with singing show fans, there’s a good reason. At age 23, Thunderstorm auditioned for Season 18 of The Voice in 2020, made it all the way to the finals and finished third.

* He closed out the second audition episode with a performance of the Beatles “Blackbird” that prompted all four coaches to turn their chair. He joined Team John Legend, was stolen by Nick Jonas in the knockouts and performed “What a Wonderful World” in the finals.

* Thunderstorm had released music prior to appearing on The Voice and has released lots since. A 2022 single called “Stronger” that played on “Grey’s Anatomy” has 14 million streams on Spotify.

* That’s one of three Thunderstorm songs on the site with more than 1 million streams. The others are “Stand Up Eight” from 2023 and “Sedona,” an original he recorded in conjunction with The Voice Season 18 finale.

* Thunderstorm’s latest release is “Take It Slow,” which dropped Friday and is inspired by his relationship with his wife Faith. They have two young sons together. You can check out the song below.

* The 29-year-old singer-songwriter was born and raised in Hawaii and has been living in Tennessee.

* He comes from a musical family. His father, Ron, played keyboards on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” album, according to Thunderstorm’s old web bio. His mother, Victoria, toured as a backing vocalist for Lena Horne and other Motown artists.

* Thunderstorm started performing at age 7. According to his Season 18 Voice bio, he and his siblings formed a family band and would play at their father’s art gallery, which attracted tourists from all over the world.

* When Thunderstorm was 13, his dad died of a heart attack. He said his oldest brother, Ron Artis II, took him under his wing and they toured together, both in the U.S. and abroad.

* And, yes, Thunderstorm is his real named. In a 2020 interview, he told Honolulu Magazine that his parents thought they were having twins and planned to name one child Thunder and the other Storm.

* “But it was just me,” he told the site, adding that he loves the name. “I feel it has the power behind it, and I try to use that energy when I perform since I’m naturally shy.”

Keep checking back for more profiles of Season 23 contestants each day between now and the March 9 American Idol premiere on ABC.

Thunderstorm on social media:
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