Remember When This Guitar Pull Artist Was On American Idol?

Elvie Shane is making big waves in country music, but do you remember where we first saw him perform? Back in 2016, on season 15 of American Idol, a young Elvie Shane stood in front of Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez and Harry Connick Jr and sang for a golden ticket to Hollywood. In honor of our most recent Guitar Pull Artist announcement, we thought we would take a trip down memory lane to one of Elvie's first big performances.

They shared his story about how he turned his life around when he met his wife and her son. Little did he know at the time that his song dedicated to him would become a hit on country radio. In his audition, Elvie showed off his vocal range with an acoustic version of House Of The Rising Sun. His performance left the judges with goosebumps.

The judges we're so moved by his powerful performance, they rewarded him with high praise and a golden ticket to Hollywood. However, his Idol journey got cut short when he was eliminated after his performance of Alex Clare's "Too Close."

All of that doesn't matter to Elvie now. He's got a song in the Top 5 at country radio, opened for Dierks Bentley in his Beers On Me Tour, and is one of our Guitar Pull 2022 Artists! It's safe to say everything worked out for Elvie.

Click here to watch Elvie's American Idol audition.

99.5 QYK Guitar Pull is back and better than ever in 2022, with an amazing group of artists. Today’s featured artist is Elvie Shane! He will join Ernest, Priscilla Block, Jackson Dean and more of your favorite country artists for a night of music and fun at 99.5 QYK’s Guitar Pull! Let’s take a look at Elvie!

Complete 99.5 QYK Guitar Pull coverage is here.

"He ain't got my smile, that don't bother me a bit
He's got somebody else's eyes I'm seeing myself in
I'm holding on to every moment, God knows I've missed a few
The day we met I knew I had some catching up to do"

A native of small-town Kentucky, that drive to make the world a little better comes naturally to Shane – and so does his high-energy sound. Raised in the Baptist church, some of his earliest (and fondest) memories come from singing hymns each week beside his Gospel-loving mother. She was the rock of the family, providing Shane with the drive and compassionate compass he now follows in his own music. But when they got home, it was his dad’s boombox that stole Shane’s attention, with the sound of classic rock and country helping pass the time.

Elvie Shane’s dad had a saying. One of those things that sticks with a person all through life – and especially in tough times. “Always forward, never straight,” he’d proclaim, knowing full well that a detour sometimes gets us where we’re headed. Even as a kid, Shane knew it was good advice. He just had no idea how good.

Nowadays, he’s the man behind the most heartwarming country hit in recent memory – the lump-in-your-throat anthem to step-fatherhood, “My Boy” – and Shane knows what his dad meant. The road ahead is rarely a straight shot, and with Backslider, his full-length album debut on Wheelhouse Records, he gives that truth a soundtrack.

Initially capturing attention with a viral social media moment, that has since become his signature smash, the song is currently Top 5 at country radio, putting Shane’s heart and soul on full display. Co-written with Russell Sutton, Lee Starr and Nick Columbia, it was born from tenderness and truth about the bond Shane shares with his stepson. Like his own dad predicted, that connection wasn’t part of Shane’s plan, but it delivered him right where he needed to be. And the song has done the same.

“I think it set the bar for a lot of honesty and authenticity,” he explains. “I was actually a little leery of putting that song out first, just because I grew up singing in rock bands and I’ve always loved edgy music … and life has been pretty edgy for me at times. I wanted to put something out there that represents the bigger picture of who I am – and it turns out I did, I just didn’t realize what it was.”

Like “My Boy,” Shane co-wrote each of the 15 tracks on Backslider, painting a sonic “bigger picture” of not just himself, but life in small-town America – just as gritty as it is graceful. Each song speaks to Shane’s life journey, revealing different chapters of his story with a sound as distinctive as its maker.

“It’s about more than just me,” Shane says, speaking of the album, but also his artistic approach. “Whether you’re from the United States or the other side of the world, we’ve probably experienced the same things: Heartbreak, family trouble, love, the yearning for a better life. These songs are my personal stories written so they rhyme … but I think they are stories that happen to each and every one of us.”

[elvieshane.com]

"My Boy"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=35BKdh4CoQ8
 
"Country Roads"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhOTrtIDobA
 
"Heartbreaks & Headaches"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdApV9MWSH0
 
"Miles (with My Mama)"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsOLJvnD8go

See him tattoo his buddies, crash festival campsites, party with fans, and his views from behind the scenes!