<b>You know.</b> <b>How you feel</b> <b>that I was, like,</b> <b>maybe six years old when my dad was,</b> <b>he was going to seminary in New Orleans</b> <b>to become a pastor.</b> <b>And, that's where I really,</b> <b>started to hear, like,</b> <b>live music and and music at all periods.</b> <b>So that really inspired me.</b> <b>You can literally walk down</b> <b>almost any street in here.</b> <b>Artists, you know, musicians,</b> <b>anything, performing on the street,</b> <b>you know, showcasing art.</b> <b>So I really got to, experience</b> <b>that at a young age.</b> <b>And, Yeah, that kind of just gave me</b> <b>the confidence to,</b> <b>or not the confidence, but,</b> <b>kind of catapulted me into doing music.</b> <b>Honestly, I was</b> <b>I was just graduating high school, and,</b> <b>you know, I, I really didn't</b> <b>necessarily know what I wanted to do.</b> <b>But I used to sing in the shower</b> <b>and stuff.</b> <b>But one day, I, I just</b> <b>I started singing in the car</b> <b>with one of my best friends at the time,</b> <b>and she recorded me and,</b> <b>I didn't know she was recording it.</b> <b>And then she ended up</b> <b>posting it on Facebook,</b> <b>and I was like, well, what do you do?</b> <b>And why, why, why would you do that?</b> <b>Well, it got really good feedback.

And,</b> <b>it just kind of gave me the confidence</b> <b>to start like posting and, and,</b> <b>and doing things like that.</b> <b>So, the voice actually reached out to me</b> <b>and at that time, like,</b> <b>it just did not seem realistic.</b> <b>It seemed like almost a prank.</b> <b>They they reached out on email and,</b> <b>they're like, hey,</b> <b>do you want to come audition</b> <b>for The Voice?</b> <b>We've been seeing your videos on Facebook</b> <b>and Instagram, and, I so I, like,</b> <b>ran into the living room</b> <b>and showed my mom and my dad.

I was like,</b> <b>is this real?</b> <b>And my mom looked at me.</b> <b>She goes, buddy, there's no way.</b> <b>There's no way this is real.</b> <b>So, yeah, like I, I flew out and I,</b> <b>and I got to an audition in front of,</b> <b>Blake Shelton and Kelly Clarkson,</b> <b>John Legend and,</b> <b>the thing that really, that really helped</b> <b>me was being surrounded by,</b> <b>all those really, really good artists.</b> <b>I was able to come home and have, like,</b> <b>just a thousand things</b> <b>to think about, from a thousand different</b> <b>perspectives of artists, you know?</b> <b>So it was a really cool thing</b> <b>first, starting out like when,</b> <b>like when I was around 19, you know,</b> <b>when I really started diving into,</b> <b>you know,</b> <b>what does it mean to be a singer?</b> <b>What does it mean</b> <b>to be an artist?

You know,</b> <b>artist</b> <b>that really caught my attention from</b> <b>the jump were artists like Alan Stone,</b> <b>Marc Broussard and, Chris Stapleton.</b> <b>You know, like, all around</b> <b>Chris Stapleton.</b> <b>You know, just the way he performed</b> <b>things, writes his music.</b> <b>I take a lot of notes from them.</b> <b>I do music full time, and, I have a</b> <b>I have a full band.</b> <b>Sometimes we,</b> <b>we do trios, sometimes we do duos.</b> <b>But yeah, just doing shows up</b> <b>and down the panhandle with</b> <b>my buddies is is what I do for a living.</b> <b>Yeah.

I got my, my best friend's man.</b> <b>I got Chase Rogers on drums.</b> <b>I got Noah Hall on saxophone,</b> <b>Melo Allen on keys.</b> <b>I got Duke Robinson on guitar.</b> <b>And, I really, really feel</b> <b>uncomfortable, Bill,</b> <b>because I have those guys</b> <b>behind me tonight.</b> <b>If one day I'm feeling</b> <b>like I got some lyrics and I'll just.</b> <b>I'll write them down.</b> <b>There's been times</b> <b>where I've had a whole song and I've.</b> <b>I've ran up to Melo.</b> <b>I'm like,</b> <b>I just sang it to him and he just</b> <b>listens and starts playing it right there.</b> <b>There's been times where, you know,</b> <b>he sends me a track.</b> <b>Yo, write to this real quick.</b> <b>Let me see what you got with this.</b> <b>And, that's</b> <b>kind of how the process goes for me.</b> <b>I think it's important to play</b> <b>original music, especially now in 2024.</b> <b>Going into 2025,</b> <b>it's a</b> <b>chance for artists to express themselves</b> <b>and put their name on the map with, like,</b> <b>you know, social media is really big.</b> <b>Now, if you have something to say,</b> <b>and you have a song,</b> <b>you know, you have the opportunity</b> <b>to put it on social media now,</b> <b>and, you know, it might get picked up.</b> <b>It might have it might help somebody, you</b> <b>know, so that's kind of that's the goal.</b> <b>My first EP was released in 2021, and,</b> <b>it was an experience, man.</b> <b>Like, I, I really got to, to learn</b> <b>what it's like to record in the studio,</b> <b>what it's like to, you know, work</b> <b>with producers and sound engineers.</b> <b>Being put in, to the room at, like,</b> <b>at that caliber with those kind of guys</b> <b>that I got to perform with.</b> <b>It was really like eye opening</b> <b>that was like,</b> <b>wow, this is even outside</b> <b>of, like, the performance part.</b> <b>Like the production</b> <b>part is a different world.</b> <b>Like, there's so much to music, man.</b> <b>Like, it's it's crazy.</b> <b>I think everybody should.</b> <b>Should push</b> <b>them, should push yourself to put out</b> <b>original music just because, like, that's</b> <b>that's what it means to be an artist.</b> <b>You know, if you have something to say,</b> <b>put it out.</b> <b>And the</b> <b>the American Idol experience was awesome.</b> <b>Back home,</b> <b>I was in I was in a</b> <b>I was going through a rough time.</b> <b>So when I had the opportunity,</b> <b>I really wanted to jump on it.</b> <b>And I was like, you know, and where I was</b> <b>at that time was like, I feel like,</b> <b>I feel like I was ready.</b> <b>I felt, I felt like I had something,</b> <b>you know, that I needed to learn.</b> <b>So I went and put myself in the room again</b> <b>with all of those artists and</b> <b>and the same thing, like,</b> <b>I learned so much and I got to come back</b> <b>home,</b> <b>you know, and, and learn and, you know,</b> <b>I knew what it took to, to be successful,</b> <b>you know?</b> <b>So, it was</b> <b>it was a learning experience, you know,</b> <b>just now, recently,</b> <b>I kind of feel like I'm getting,</b> <b>a hold of my sound and who I want to be</b> <b>as an artist, you know,</b> <b>I went on to The Voice</b> <b>and I went on to American Idol.</b> <b>You know, I felt confident,</b> <b>like I really wanted to do it.</b> <b>I maybe necessarily didn't know</b> <b>who I wanted to be as an artist yet, but</b> <b>I learned so much</b> <b>from all of those other artists</b> <b>and those other people, you know,</b> <b>pouring into me,</b> <b>you know, just just hearing them sing,</b> <b>just seeing how they</b> <b>approach things, you know,</b> <b>it really helped me.</b> <b>Like I said, the whole social media thing,</b> <b>I'm really trying to, you know,</b> <b>that's why I was really looking</b> <b>forward to the studio.</b> <b>And just like, man,</b> <b>this is a really good opportunity.</b> <b>I can send this out to,</b> <b>you know, so many different venues or,</b> <b>or anybody, you know, if I,</b> <b>I want people to hear my original music</b> <b>live.</b> <b>You know,</b> <b>this is a really, really good opportunity.</b> <b>So find my music.</b> <b>Apple music, Spotify, iTunes,</b> <b>I think iCloud.</b> <b>I think it's in there somewhere.</b> <b>But yeah, all streaming platforms.</b> <b>I do music because I really feel like,</b> <b>it's the only thing that I have really,</b> <b>really excelled at, kind of my life.</b> <b>I've always like,</b> <b>kind of like the second place guy,</b> <b>but when I, when I say and do music,</b> <b>you know, I kind of</b> <b>just forget about all those things,</b> <b>and I get to express myself.</b> <b>I don't know, just kind of, like, freely,</b> <b>you know, even tonight,</b> <b>like, when we perform,</b> <b>just feeling</b> <b>the music and where it can go.</b> <b>You know, I love doing that.</b> <b>And, that's really why I do</b> <b>music is just because it it really fuels</b> <b>my soul in my heart,</b> <b>you know, really keeps me going.</b> <b>Even.</b>