Jack Forest Blocker (born June 8, 1998) is an American alternative pop/rock

singer-songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk- acoustic tradition with a guitar, although this role has ...

and musician known for being a season 22 ''American Idol'' finalist from

Dallas County, Texas Dallas County is a county located in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 2,613,539, and was estimated to be 2,656,028 in 2024, making it the List of counties in Texas, second-most populo ...

. He was the first contestant to initially receive a majority of two "no" votes from the judges (before

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of the Motown group Commodores; writing and recor ...

reversed his decision) to subsequently reach the finals.

Early life and career

Blocker was born on June 8, 1998 in

Richardson, Texas Richardson is a city in Dallas and Collin counties in the U.S. state of Texas. As of the 2020 United States census, the city had a total population of 119,469. Richardson is an inner suburb of the city of Dallas. It is home to the Universit ...

to Truman and Caryn Blocker. He has three sisters. Growing up in

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

, his parents described him as a shy but adventurous child, who was equally interested in athletics and art. He was inspired to pursue music from listening to country artists and worship songs. He went to high school at Trinity Christian Academy in

Addison, Texas Addison is an incorporated town in Dallas County, Texas, United States. The 2020 census population was 16,661. Addison is immediately north of Dallas. Addison and Flower Mound were the only two Texas municipalities labeled "towns" with a popul ...

, where he met his future wife, Georgia. He is a self-taught guitarist who learned how to play from watching

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

instructional videos. Prior to ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...

'', Blocker was in a pop band called Rightfield, which he formed while attending the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

Fayetteville Fayetteville may refer to: *Fayetteville, Alabama *Fayetteville, Arkansas ** The Fayetteville Formation *Fayetteville, Georgia *Fayetteville, Illinois *Fayetteville, Indiana *Fayetteville, Washington County, Indiana *Fayetteville, Missouri *Fayette ...

. He majored in

communications Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

. In 2022, he, his wife, and his bandmate Reed Hoelscher, moved to

Nashville Nashville, often known as Music City, is the capital and List of municipalities in Tennessee, most populous city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the county seat, seat of Davidson County, Tennessee, Davidson County in Middle Tennessee, locat ...

to pursue music as a full-time career. While Blocker continued recording with his band, simultaneously he became a solo artist and began writing songs. He describes the move as a "

culture shock Culture shock is an experience a person may have when one moves to a cultural environment which is different from one's own; it is also the personal disorientation a person may feel when experiencing an unfamiliar way of life due to immigration ...

''American Idol''

Blocker auditioned in

with his original song, "I Was Wrong".

Luke Bryan Thomas Luther "Luke" Bryan (born July 17, 1976) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and television personality. Bryan is a five-time "Entertainer of the Year", being awarded by both the Academy of Country Music Awards and the Count ...

voted "yes", but

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

voted "no" citing that the faces he pulled while singing were distracting.

was on the fence, but decided to vote "no". After Blocker left the room, he questioned his decision, while the crew lambasted the judges. Richie took a vote and the entire crew plus

Ryan Seacrest Ryan John Seacrest (born December 24, 1974) is an American television presenter and producer. Seacrest is the host of '' Wheel of Fortune'', having hosted since replacing long-time host Pat Sajak in September 2024. Seacrest co-hosted and ser ...

voted to bring Blocker back in for a "yes", after which they gave him a golden ticket to

Hollywood Hollywood usually refers to: * Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California * Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States Hollywood may also refer to: Places United States * Hollywood District (disambiguation) * Hollywood ...

. In Hollywood, Blocker practiced singing in the mirror in order to subdue his facial contortions that initially turned off Perry. He sang "

Your Cheatin' Heart "Your Cheatin' Heart" is a song written and recorded by country music singer-songwriter Hank Williams in 1952. It is regarded as one of country's most important standards. Williams was inspired to write the song while driving with his fiancée ...

" by

Hank Williams Sr. Hiram "Hank" Williams (September 17, 1923 – January 1, 1953) was an American singer, songwriter, and musician. An early pioneer of country music, he is regarded as one of the most significant and influential musicians of the 20th century. W ...

and advanced onto the next round. After singing "You Should've Seen the Other Guy" by

Nathaniel Rateliff Nathaniel David Rateliff (born October 7, 1978) is an American singer and songwriter based in Denver, Colorado, whose influences are described as folk, Americana and vintage rhythm & blues. Rateliff has performed with a backing band called the ...

, the judges brought a portion of the crew out to announce along with them that he made the Top 24. For his Top 24 performance at

Disney The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

Aulani Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, is a beachside resort hotel at the Ko Olina Resort in Kapolei, Hawaii, on the island of Oahu. It is one of Disney's "stand-alone" hotels, situated in a location without any adjacent theme parks, alongside Disney ...

resort in Hawaii, Blocker sang "

Rainbow A rainbow is an optical phenomenon caused by refraction, internal reflection and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a continuous spectrum of light appearing in the sky. The rainbow takes the form of a multicoloured circular ...

" by

Kacey Musgraves Kacey Lee Musgraves (born August 21, 1988) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. She began her career in the early 2000s, when she self-released three solo albums and recorded another album as a member of the duo Texas Two Bits. In 20 ...

and was lauded by the judges (which included guest mentor Jelly Roll). Richie declared Blocker was "a storyteller's storyteller". Blocker advanced to the Top 20 and subsequently the Top 14, singing "

You Don't Mess Around with Jim ''You Don't Mess Around with Jim'' is the third studio album by American singer-songwriter Jim Croce; it released in April 1972 by ABC Records. History and release The album was recorded over a three to four-week period for approximately $18,00 ...

" by

Jim Croce James Joseph Croce (; January 10, 1943 – September 20, 1973) was an American Folk music, folk and rock singer-songwriter. Between 1966 and 1973, he released five studio albums and numerous singles. During this period, Croce took a series of o ...

for the voting round and " Feeling Whitney" by

Post Malone Austin Richard Post (born July 4, 1995), known professionally as Post Malone, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, and actor. His music blends various genres including hip-hop, Pop music, pop, Contemporary R&B, R&B, Tra ...

as his "victory song". Blocker earned unanimous praise from the judges for his Top 14 performance of

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan; born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Described as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture over his nearly 70-year ...

's "

Don't Think Twice, It's All Right "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right" is a song written by Bob Dylan in 1962 and released the following year on his album '' The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' and as the B-side of the single " Blowin' in the Wind". The song has been covered by several ot ...

". He continued to earn plaudits for his Top 12 and Top 10 performances of "

Blinding Lights "Blinding Lights" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter the Weeknd, from his fourth studio album, '' After Hours'' (2020). The song was released through XO and Republic Records on November 29, 2019, as the album's second single. It is a synt ...

" by

The Weeknd Abel Makkonen Tesfaye (; born February 16, 1990), known professionally as the Weeknd, is a Canadian singer-songwriter, record producer, and actor. He is best known for adding Pop music, pop, electronic music, electronic and hip-hop stylings ...

and "

Believe Believe may refer to: *Belief, a psychological state in which an individual holds a proposition or premise to be true, with or without proof for such proposition *Faith, a belief in something which has not been proven Arts, entertainment, and me ...

" by

Cher Cher ( ; born Cheryl Sarkisian, May 20, 1946) is an American singer, actress and television personality. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Goddess of Pop", she is known for her Androgyny, androgynous contralto voice, Music an ...

, respectively. Perry praised Blocker for "taking a dance song that is so Cher and making it Jack Blocker". For his solo performance on the Judges' Contest night (Top 8), Blocker performed without his guitar for the first time. He sang "

Always on My Mind "Always on My Mind" is a Sentimental ballad, ballad written by Wayne Carson, Johnny Christopher, and Mark James (songwriter), Mark James, first recorded by Brenda Lee and first released by Gwen McCrae (as "You Were Always on My Mind") in Mar ...

", which was chosen for him by Perry, and was lauded by all three judges. He and Emmy Russell (

Loretta Lynn Loretta Lynn (; April 14, 1932 – October 4, 2022) was an American country music singer and songwriter. In a career spanning six decades, Lynn released multiple gold albums. She had numerous hits such as "Hey Loretta", "The Pill (song), The P ...

's granddaughter) also sang a duet of "

Hello Hello is a salutation or greeting in the English language. It is first attested in writing from 1826. Early uses ''Hello'', with that spelling, was used in publications in the U.S. as early as the 18 October 1826 edition of the '' Norwich Cou ...

" as a tribute to Richie. He continued to garner further acclamation from the judges in the successive weeks. He sang "

Long Tall Sally "Long Tall Sally", also known as "Long Tall Sally (The Thing)", is a rock and roll song written by Robert "Bumps" Blackwell, Enotris Johnson, and Little Richard and released on Richard's album '' Here's Little Richard''. Richard recorded it fo ...

" by

Little Richard Richard Wayne Penniman (December 5, 1932 – May 9, 2020), known professionally as Little Richard, was an American singer, pianist, and songwriter. He was an influential figure in popular music and culture for seven decades. Described as the "Ar ...

and " One and Only" by

Adele Adele Laurie Blue Adkins (; born 5 May 1988) is an English singer-songwriter. Regarded as a British cultural icon, icon, she is known for her mezzo-soprano vocals and sentimental songwriting. List of awards and nominations received by Adele, ...

in the Top 7. The following week in the Top 5, he was lauded for his performances of " Nobody's Fool" by

Brad Paisley Brad Douglas Paisley (born October 28, 1972) is an American country music singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His first success came in 1997 as the writer of David Kersh's "Another You (David Kersh song), Another You". After this, he signed with ...

and "

Space Oddity "Space Oddity" is a song by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie. It was first released on 11 July 1969 by Philips and Mercury Records as a 7-inch single, then as the opening track of his second studio album, ''David Bowie''. Produce ...

" by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

. After these performances, he was announced as part of the Final 3 alongside

Abi Carter Abigail Carter (born July 31, 2002) is an American singer who won season 22 of ''American Idol'' in 2024. She was the first woman in four years and the first platinum ticket recipient to win the competition. She is from Indio, California, and ...

and Will Moseley. In the finale, he sang " I'll Be There for You" by

Bon Jovi Bon Jovi is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Sayreville, New Jersey in 1983. The band consists of singer Jon Bon Jovi, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, guitarists John Shanks and Phil X, percussionist Everett Bradley ...

and "

All My Ex's Live in Texas "All My Ex's Live in Texas" is a song written by Sanger D. Shafer and Lyndia J. Shafer, and recorded by American country music singer George Strait. It was released in April 1987 as the second single from Strait's album '' Ocean Front Property' ...

" by

George Strait George Harvey Strait Sr. (born May 18, 1952) is an American country music singer, songwriter, actor, and music producer. Strait has sold over 120 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. He holds ...

. Following these performances, Blocker was eliminated in third place. (Carter was eventually declared the winner of season 22.) After his elimination, Blocker also performed a duet with Perry on her song " What Makes a Woman", in which she allowed him to write his own verse. His self-penned single "All of Yours (To Give All of Mine)", which he was unable to perform due to being eliminated prior to the final round, was released on May 17, 2024.

Performances and results

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blocker, Jack 1998 births Living people Singers from Texas Singers from Dallas People from Dallas People from Dallas County, Texas People from Richardson, Texas American Idol participants American male pop singers American pop rock musicians 21st-century American singers 21st-century American male musicians