21-year-old Chase Goehring charmed the judges with his original song “Hurt” on America’s Got Talent, and he had many fans comparing him to Ed Sheeran. Goehring quickly had the crowd cheering without even playing a note with his bubbly energy in the pre-show interview. He then told the judges that he was going to be singing a song “about a girl in a bad relationship, and I’m kinda like ‘Hey, you’re not in a good position right now and I could really help you out if you just give me a chance.’”
The young talent had a whole lot more than just a compelling story, though. Goehring immediately impressed with some gentle acoustic guitar playing and a honeyed croon on the mic. The Nolensville, Tennessee songwriter then threw a curveball at the audience by switching up his playing to an upbeat riff and dropped a hectic rap verse. Next, he transitioned back to his original tone, then lifted his voice to the next level to bring the song home in a big way.
Goehring’s full voice at the end of the song definitely brought to mind Sheeran, along with his intimate acoustic approach to songwriting. Viewers watching online were picking up what he was putting down, and added comments such as “Everyone says he’s the next Ed Sheeran and Shawn Mendes. I think he’s gonna be the next Chase Goehring.” and “That was brilliant! I love how the lyrics are written. Doesn’t take a genius to understand, but really makes you reflect and picture the situation.”
Goehring’s audition went down a treat on YouTube, where it attracted 7 million views across multiple uploads. He returned in the judge cuts round to perform “A Cappella”, which he said “is about me, because I really just want to be my own artist and make music that people can relate to.” The judges gave the Tennessee singer standing ovations, and guest judge DJ Khaled even gave Goehring his golden buzzer!
Going home with the golden buzzer in the judge cuts round sent Goehring straight to the quarter-finals. The Music Man readers will no doubt be pleased to hear that he then successfully advanced through the semi-finals, finals, and eventually to the finale, sharing several of his original songs along the way.
Goehring performed James Arthur’s “Say You Won’t Let Go” with the man himself in the finale. However, he was not able to gain enough votes to make it into the top five, so he was eliminated from the competition.
If you would like to hear more from this talented artist, you can follow Chase Goehring on his Facebook and Instagram for more incredible music.