North Carolina Native And Former NFL Player Has Moment On American Idol
From Clay Aiken to Kelly Picker, to Scotty McCreery, North Carlina has always had a very strong presence on “American Idol.” That tradition continued this weekend as Blake Proehl took to the audition stage. That being said, it’s not like Blake Proehl isn’t used to performing on the biggest of stages.
For starters, his name should be very familiar to Carolina Panthers fans as his dad, Ricky Proehl is an OG fan favorite. Blake then followed in his father’s footsteps. The Charlotte native played wide receiver at East Carolina and for three years in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings. His father was able to play for seventeen years in the league. A severe knee injury ended Blake Proehl’s professional football career after three.
Doctors said it would be a success if Blake was ever able to run again in general. So, it was during all that sedentary recovery time that Proehl discovered music. Blake’s grandmother is his biggest supporter and inspiration. In fact, she was literally brought in to be by his side during his American Idol audition. And what an audition it was. Blake Proehl sat at the piano and gave such a soulful rendition of Brett Young’s “In Case You Didn’t Know,” that I wouldn’t be surprised if Brett reached out himself!
Katy Perry didn’t wait to give her verbal, “yes,” post-performance. She immediately raced out to Blake, got his autograph and stated, “You’re not allowed to leave this show.” Luke Bryan proclaimed, “Every girl you sit down and sing that to, they’re going to be melted butter-kind of like this one a minute ago (pointing to Perry). Lionel Ritchie called him a “natural,” and further stating, “you either have it or you don’t.”
So, all in all an amazing American Idol performance by Charlotte, North Carolina’s Blake Proehl. And it goes without saying he’s “Going to Hollywood.”
Number Of North Carolina Reality TV Singing Competition Winners Is Second In The Nation
Do you love reality TV singing competitions? I was once an avid viewer of American Idol back in the early seasons, but eventually gave that up. Partially due to the lack of the majority of contestants ever going on to have a successful music career. It just felt like a waste to watch and get emotionally attached to artists who you’d never hear from again. But many of these shows including American Idol and The Voice are still thriving and attracting both viewers and contestants. And here in North Carolina, we have the second-highest number of reality singing competition winners in the nation. Who would have thought? We actually had several contestants from North Carolina including Kellie Pickler, Chris Daughtry, and Clay Aiken but none of those three went on to win the competition.
But three others did, and all three represent different genres of music. Our friends over at BetCarolina.com – your source for North Carolina sports betting – utilized Wikipedia to gather each winner from each season of NBC’s “The Voice,” FOX & ABC’s “American Idol” as well as the singers who won on NBC’s “America’s Got Talent.” After compiling this data they were able to compile a list of the states that have produced the most singing competition winners. Do you think you remember the three North Carolina singing competition winners? Keep reading to see if you are correct!
Read BetCarolina’s full study and analysis here.
Charlie Nance is the Afternoon Drive co-host (along with his wife) of "The Charlie and Debbie Show" at WSOC, Country 1037 in Charlotte, North Carolina. The couple have been with the radio station since 2006. Charlie has won the prestigious CMA (Country Music Association) Award for Radio Personality of the Year and has been a finalist for the Country Radio Hall of Fame four times. Prior to his time in Charlotte, Charlie (along with Debbie) spent more than a decade hosting successful morning radio shows in Greenville, SC; Augusta, Ga; and Birmingham, Al. As a content creator for Country 1037, Charlie writes about dream lottery windfalls, sports, restaurants and bars, and travel experiences in North and South Carolina.
