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Charlie & Debbie

American Idol Dream Ends For Charlotte Native/Former NFL Player

Author Charlie & Debbie

Well, dang.  What do these people have in common:  Clay Aiken, Chris Daughtry, Kelly Picker, and Scotty McCreery?  If you said all are American Idol contestants from North Carlina, you would be correct.  Add to the list Blake Proehl.  Unfortunately for Blake, his American Idol journey ends like Aiken, Daughtry and Pickler’s and not McCreery’s.  Blake Proehl has been eliminated from this year’s American Idol competition on ABC.

Back in February, we shared Blake Proehl’s American Idol story with you here.  Proehl’s debut on the show was memorable for sure.

Equally memorable were the reactions of the judges to Blake Proehl.  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.”

Last night, American Idol cut their contestants from 24 to 20 and Blake Proehl, suprisingly, did not make the list.  According to Heavy.com, the elimination of Blake Proehl, a former NFL player who discovered his love of songwriting and performing while recovering from a career-ending injury, was likely the most shocking cut of the night.

Blake Proehl’s name is not strange to Queen City football fans. His dad, Ricky Proehl, is an OG Carolina Panther 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.

We all had such high hopes!  Congrats to Blake Proehl for making it this far.  And surely, there’s more to come.  After all look at all the success Clay Aiken, Kellie Pickler, and Chris Daughtry have had since their American Idol dream ended!

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.

  • 1. Texas

    Kelly Clarkson (S1 American Idol), David Cook (S7 American Idol), Danielle Bradberry (S4 The Voice), Craig Wayne Boyd (S7 The Voice), and Sundance Head (S11 The Voice) are among Texas’ 7 winners of reality singing competitions.

  • 2. North Carolina (TIE)

    North Carolina has had three stars take the American Idol crown. This includes:

  • 2. New York

    New York winners include Jermaine Paul (S2 The Voice), Just Sam (aka Samantha Diaz, S18 American Idol), and Carter Rubin (S19 of The Voice).

  • 3. Nine Way Tie With 2 Winners Each

    The 9 states with two winners include Georgia, Tennessee, Alabama, Mississippi, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Florida, California, and West Virginia.

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.

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