Staff photo by Dan Henry/Chattanooga Times Free Press – Damon Gillespie, a 16-year-old sophomore at the Center for Creative Arts, is a tap dancer who started three years ago and currently a rising star. Television’s top two reality TV talent shows featured singers from Cleveland, Tenn., in their championship rounds last year. Even more notable, both singers were alumni of Lee University, making Lee the first college in the nation to have singers reach the championships of both shows, much less in the same year.
Lee student Jordan Smith won Season 9 of “The Voice” and alumnus Clark Beckham was runner-up on Season 14 of “American Idol.” Both were considered front-runners throughout their seasons, with Smith’s breakout performance of “Somebody to Love” pushing him over the top to the “Voice” title.
Smith made “Voice” history by landing eight songs in the iTunes singles Top 10, becoming the first artist from any “Voice” season to have a song crack the Top 10 singles chart every week of the live rounds, and he was one of just two “Voice” artists to notch three No. 1 singles on iTunes during a show season.
Smith’s new album, “Something Beautiful,” was released March 18 on the Republic Records label. It is a compilation of original songs and covers produced by music legends David Foster (Celine Dion, Michael Buble) and Stephan Moccio (The Weeknd, Miley Cyrus).
Here’s a roundup of other local talent in front of and behind TV cameras during 2015.