If you keep up with "America's Got Talent" (or you just watch all of the Facebook videos that pop up on your timeline) then you probably have seen Chase Goehring.
Chase is a 21-year-old singer from Tennessee and he's been blowing up online. He takes the AGT stage with just a guitar and a mic, and one of the first things people notice about him is his resemblance to Ed Sheeran; same ginger hair, same casual hoodie and jeans, same simple stage presence.
When he opens his mouth, the resemblance continues: Chase performs original songs that are a mix of song and fast rap, and millions of people dig his sound. The comments are full of people writing, "Is it just me or does this guy remind you of Ed Sheeran?" and "The next Ed Sheeran." This is where my perception of Chase goes sour.
Let me back up a little bit. A few years ago, I got a follow on Twitter from someone named Chase Goehring. (Yes, the same Chase now getting millions of YouTube views.) I did a thorough creeping, looking through his photos and his videos. I'll admit, he reminded me of Ed immediately as well, and as a die-hard fan of Ed, I decided to give Chase a shot.
I listened to his music on iTunes, Googled him, and scrolled through his Twitter feed. To be honest, the more I listened to Chase, the less I liked him. At first glance, he does bear similarities to Ed, but his music is entirely different. His voice is higher and more nasally and his lyrics are kind of silly. (Example: in his song "A Capella" he sings, "I would say I put my soul all up in [my songs] but I am a ginger, you know how that goes.")
I decided not to follow him back and a few days later, he unfollowed me. I forgot all about him until he started showing up on my Facebook feed.
Normally, I would just ignore the videos of Chase on AGT since I already know that I'm not a fan. But the more I see his face in my feed, the more annoyed I get that he is rising to fame.
I'm not denying that Chase has talent, I just wish he could make a name for himself without being compared to someone else. I also prefer performers who don't have a fan base or musical experience before going on the show.
Chase already had music on iTunes when he took to the stage, and in my opinion, that isn't fair. His song "A Capella," which earned him the golden buzzer, isn't a recent composition--it was put on YouTube over two years ago.
On top of that, he's toured with Magcon and he was a contestant on the third season of "The X Factor"--Chase is not the fresh, innocent songwriter that he appears to be. Now he has turned to "America's Got Talent" to promote himself.
Chase isn't the type of AGT performer that I root for; he's not an underdog who has undiscovered talent. He already had fans, music on iTunes, and a background on "The X Factor" when he took to the stage, and I think he uses his resemblance to Ed to his advantage. It's tricky and dishonest and for these reasons, I will not be supporting Chase Goehring in "America's Got Talent."
