Connor Blackley has always been an amazing vocalist!
From the very first article I wrote about him, I saw a tremendous young talented singer, whose skills and abilities were destined to carry him on a great adventure, ultimately fulfilling his dream to become a Pop/ Country recording artist. In fact I likened him to a miniature Garth Brooks in the making!
While Connor is very versatile and should not be locked into just one genre, I think you will agree that when he sings a country ballad he demands your attention. Even more so now, with his treble days behind him, Connor’s new mature, full sounding vocals, draw you in delivering even greater meaning to the songs he performs.
I’m very happy to debut his latest single cover here for your enjoyment! If you have been keeping up with Connor on this site, you’re going to be amazed at his brand new sound in this cover of  “Anymore by: Travis Tritt!
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In my last update I announced that Connor and his good friend and singing partner Cortnie Frazier had won the opportunity to audition for Simon Crowell’s new reality singing competition show X-Factor.
While I wish I could tell you that we will be seeing Connor perform this fall, he and Cortnie were not selected to go further in the competition. Regardless of this decision for this year, these two fine young singers not only enjoyed a wonderful experience, but also were benefited by some terrific local media attention prior to their audition for the show.
 BEHIND THE SCENES STORY!
Staying true to my word to follow up on this story, I now share with you a little of what went on behind the scenes for Connor and Cortnie as they participated in this new national talent show due to debut this fall on Fox.
While Connor and Cortnie who called themselves “C Squared†were disappointed that they would not be heading to the judges round to meet Simon Cowell and Paula Abdul, they actually deserve a lot of credit for sailing through Rounds One and Two, making it all the way to Round Three of the auditions. Out of more than Ten Thousand people who auditioned in Dallas, Connor and Cortnie progressed through the ranks making it into the top 400 who auditioned in Round 3. Not bad for this young boy/girl duet, especially considering that the reason they were in Dallas to audition was because they beat out 100 people to win a “Front of the Line” contest with Fox 30 Morning News in Jacksonville.
In spite of their disappointment, they had a lot of fun in Dallas, getting to explore the Downtown area and meeting some pretty cool people. Connor is going to be making a trip to Orlando in the next month or so, in hopes of participating in Disney’s American Idol Experience and wining a “Dream Ticket”, because next year he will be old enough to audition for American Idol. This is very exciting as it gives us one more opportunity to cheer for Connor and wish him the very best of success in his quest to fulfill his dreams as a recording artist!
Connor has been enjoying his summer, doing a few gigs here and there, but really focusing on improving his guitar playing skills. His goal is to be able to play a 45 minute acoustic set, so he can start playing at more venues around town.
He and Cortnie recently went into the recording studio to record some duets and some solo songs as well. They will be going back in a couple of weeks and hope to have a total of 10 to 12 songs to put on a demo cd to give out to people who come to their performances. Listen now to Connor and Cortnie singing one of their new recordings of Dolly Parton’s 1974 hit single, “I Will Always Love You”!
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Once the cd is finished, Connor next goal is to get some original music and hopefully do a cd with just original songs.
Although Connor is serious about his music, he continues to be himself, doing things that most typical teenagers enjoy. Sleeping in til noon, working out at the YMCA and hanging out at the pool and beach with friends has made up a good part of his summer vacation. Although the sleeping in will soon end, as Connor will be heading back to school where he will be a freshman at Douglas Anderson School of the Arts.
Connor has a New ReverbNation Account set up under “Connor Blackley” and has his new recordings published there, as well and several new videos uploaded.
Be sure you check this site out and become a fan, because Connor will be adding new music and videos in the weeks to come.
We are closing this article today with Connor singing his rendition of Desperado made famous by Glen Frey and Don Henley (Eagles) on the 1973 album of the same name.
We wish you the very best of success Connor! Nothing would please your fans more than for you to capture it all on next years American Idol! You can count on this blog and your fans to be backing you all the way! Keep the great music coming!