x
Breaking News
More () »

Openly gay country singer shares how he felt auditioning for 'The Voice'

His rendition of country singer Chris Young's tomorrow caught the ears of all four coaches.
Justin Kilgore sings Chris Young's "Tomorrow" on "The Voice." (Photo: YouTube screenshot)

PHOENIX – “It was amazing,” said Justin Kilgore. “It was a dream come true.”

Kilgore lives in Austin and works for an online legal tech company, but you may know him from the premiere episode of "The Voice." A friend convinced him to audition when the voice came to Texas, landing him in the show.

“They’re like you’re going to be waiting awhile,” he said about the show’s producers, “and so I just got comfortable and then they were like, hey you’re going to go on next and so you didn’t have time to prepare.”

His rendition of country singer Chris Young’s tomorrow caught the ears of all four coaches.

“I had to psych myself out when I went on stage,” he said. “I was like, ‘This isn’t real. This is a dress rehearsal. They’re not in those chairs,’ so that I could get through this moment. And as soon as the three of them turned around at the same time - I don’t know if you saw it on the taping – but I immediately pivoted the other way so I didn’t look at them. I was like, ‘Don’t look at them. Don’t look at the them.’”

He chose team Kelly and now Justin wants to use his voice to convey a message of tolerance and acceptance. He is an openly gay country singer.

“Regardless of how far I go here,” he said, “I hope that it inspires people to be themselves and to chase their dreams because when I was a kid, I didn't have someone to look up to like that. To say, ‘you know what? He’s doing that. He’s being himself. If he can do it, I can do it.'"

Before You Leave, Check This Out