Idol Chatter & Voice Views

County music fans should take note of this.

Cody Wickline from Season 8 of The Voice just released his debut album.

And a couple of listens will have you wondering why Cody didn’t make it to the show’s voting rounds.

The album is that good.

“Son of a Working Man” hit iTunes on Tuesday. It features 12 tracks, including covers of “Blame It on Waylon” and “He Stopped Loving Her Today.”

The latter is the George Jones’ tune Cody sang for his Voice audition — the cover that enticed a four-chair turn from The Voice coaches.

But most impressive are the 10 originals on the album.

Cody finds the sweet spot with mid-tempo tunes like “That’s Why I Run” and “Addicted to You.”

He sounds great on a trio of ballads — “Shadows,” “Better Off” and “Sweet Perfume.”

And he throws in a fun album-ending drinking ditty, “Three Tequila, Floor.”

In an interview with his hometown Register-Herald newspaper, Cody refers to his new music as “really gritty, raw country.”

It’s mostly throwback country, too, and the 21-year-old West Virginian sounds older than his age, which isn’t a bad thing in this case.

Pre-Voice, Cody was pursuing a nursing degree at Bluefield State College. He’s put that on hold to focus on his music.

”At this point, I’m fortunate enough to be able to make a living, so I’m going to keep pushing forward and see how far it’ll take me,” he told the newspaper.

And that will include a tour of fairs and festivals this summer where he’ll perform his new music.

You can follow Cody through his Facebook page. On Twitter, he’s @cody_wickline.

Now, here are two of my favorites from the new album.

See also
Albums, EPs, singles and videos from former Voice contestants in 2016
2015 albums and EPs by singers from The Voice
2015 singles by singers from The Voice
2015 videos by singers from The Voice