Caleb Lee Hutchinson (born March 2, 1999) is an American singer-songwriter, and runner-up on the sixteenth season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

''.

Early life

Caleb Lee Hutchinson was born in

Dallas, Georgia Dallas is a city in, and the county seat of, Paulding County, Georgia, United States. The estimated population, as of 2010, was 11,544. Dallas is a northwestern exurb of Atlanta, located approximately from the downtown area. It was named for G ...

, to William and Piper Hutchinson. He has a brother Tyler. He started playing guitar when he was 12, attended

South Paulding High School South Paulding High School is a public high school located in Paulding County, Georgia, United States. Opened in 2006, South Paulding is a part of the Paulding County School District. Beginning its second year (2007–2008), a 12th grade class w ...

, and graduated in 2017. In 2015, at age 16, Hutchinson appeared on ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'' on the contest's 9th season auditioning with " The Dance", but none of the presiding judges Adam Levine,

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

and

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

turned their chair, and Hutchinson was eliminated from the show.

''American Idol''

In 2018, he auditioned to season 16 of ''American Idol'' with the song "If It Hadn't Been for Love" from

The SteelDrivers The SteelDrivers are a bluegrass band from Nashville, Tennessee. Members include fiddler Tammy Rogers, bassist Mike Fleming, guitarist/vocalist Matt Dame, mandolinist Brent Truitt, and banjoist Richard Bailey. Past members include Kelvin Damrel ...

. All three judges

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Known for her influence on modern pop music and her Camp (style), campy style, she has been ...

and

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music, country singer, songwriter, and television personality. He began his music career writing songs for Travis Tritt and Billy Currington before signing with Capitol Reco ...

voted "yes" for him to continue. During the season, he sang " Die a Happy Man" (Top 24), "Midnight Train to Memphis" (Top 14), "

You've Got a Friend in Me "You've Got a Friend in Me" is a song by Randy Newman. Used as the theme song for the 1995 Disney/Pixar animated film ''Toy Story'', it has since become a major musical component for its sequels, ''Toy Story 2'' (1999), ''Toy Story 3'' (2010) ...

" (Top 10), "

When Doves Cry "When Doves Cry" is a song by American musician Prince, and the lead single from his sixth studio album '' Purple Rain''. According to the DVD commentary of the film '' Purple Rain'' (1984), Prince was asked by director Albert Magnoli to write a ...

and "

Amazed "Amazed" is a song by American country music group Lonestar, released on March 22, 1999, for country radio as the second single from their third studio album ''Lonely Grill'' (1999). The power ballad is the band's longest-lasting number one sing ...

" (Top 7), "

So Small "So Small" is a song co-written and recorded by American country music artist Carrie Underwood. It was released in August 2007 as the first single from her 2007 album ''Carnival Ride''. Underwood co-wrote this song with Hillary Lindsey and Luke L ...

" and " Stars in Alabama" (Top 5) qualifying for the shows' finale. On May 20, 2018, he performed " Don't Close Your Eyes", "

Folsom Prison Blues "Folsom Prison Blues" is a song by American singer-songwriter Johnny Cash. Written in 1953, it was first recorded in 1955 for his debut studio album '' Johnny Cash with His Hot and Blue Guitar!'' (1957), appearing as the album's eleventh track. T ...

" and his single was "Johnny Cash Heart" finishing runner-up to winner

Maddie Poppe Madeline Mae Poppe (born December 5, 1997) is an American singer-songwriter, musician, and the American Idol (season 16), season 16 winner of ''American Idol.'' She is a multi-instrumentalist—playing the guitar, piano, and ukulele. Prior to wi ...

. From the time he first appeared on the show until the end of the season he lost about 70 pounds. During the final, Caleb declared that he and winner Maddie Poppe were dating.

Music career

Hutchinson's song on ''American Idol'', "Johnny Cash Heart", was released after his performance on the show. The song charted at No. 16 on the Country Digital Song Sales chart on its first week of release. On 28 June 2019, Hutchinson released a self-titled EP, produced by

Kristian Bush Kristian Merrill Bush (born March 14, 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. Bush is one half of the country music duo Sugarland with Jennifer Nettles, and was a member of the folk rock duo Billy Pilgrim with Andrew Hyr ...

Sugarland Sugarland is an American country music duo founded in Atlanta, Georgia. The duo consists of singer-songwriters Jennifer Nettles (lead vocals) and Kristian Bush (vocals, guitar, mandolin). They were founded in 2002, at which point Kristen Hall (vo ...

. Two songs from the EP, "Left of Me" and a cover of

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Known for his variegated vocals, Malone has gained acclaim for blending genres and subgenres of hip ...

's song "

Better Now "Better Now" is a song by American rapper and singer Post Malone from his second studio album, ''Beerbongs & Bentleys'' (2018). It was written by Post Malone, Billy Walsh, Louis Bell and Frank Dukes, with production handled by the latter two. Th ...

" were first released in January 2019.

Discography

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

Hutchinson Caleb Lee Hutchinson
on ''

'' * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hutchinson, Caleb Lee American Idol participants The Voice (franchise) contestants Living people 1999 births 21st-century American singers Singers from Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century American male singers