After surviving a series of brutal cuts on “American Idol” — more than half of the entire competition was eliminated in one of the early rounds — making the show’s top 24 lands you a trip to Hawaii, where contestants get to perform with a full band at the Aulani Disney resort.
For Thunderstorm Artis, it was essentially a hometown show.
The 29-year-old singer-songwriter hails from a large musical family — one of 11 kids — on the North Shore of Oahu, about a 25-30-minute drive from where he was performing.
As he sang Bob Marley’s “Is This Love” on the outdoor stage, smiling wide while strumming his acoustic guitar, the camera panned out to the audience. So many people from his childhood, including friends and pastors, came to hear him sing. The camera showed his mom, sisters and, of course, Faith, his wife of five years who was beaming with pride at her husband while holding their now 7-month-old son.
Right across the street from the Disney resort was the restaurant Monkeypod Kitchen, where Artis used to perform with his brother every Sunday night for anyone who would listen.
Now, to be on the other side of the street, performing on a stage in front of “Idol” judges and superstars Lionel Richie, Carrie Underwood and Luke Bryan — not to mention his friends, family and the millions of viewers tuning in from home — was truly surreal.
Artis did everything in his power not to cry on stage, but he was really emotional. The minute he left the stage, he let it all wash over him.
“As an artist, one of the things that I’ve strived for for so long is to be in front of an audience that is genuinely there and excited to see me do the thing that I’m doing on stage,” Artis, who now resides in Nashville, recently told the Deseret News. “This has been a dream of mine for so long, to be able to come back home and do something of this magnitude.”
It was a full-circle moment for Artis, one of those moments that validates the path he’s long pursued.
Not that he really needs the validation.
Artis has known for a while that music is what he’s supposed to be doing, a calling of sorts, because he once got a glimpse of what his life would be like without it.
So he shares his music everywhere he can.
That’s taken him to “The Voice,” where he was a finalist and placed third on Season 18 in 2020. It has put him on tour with big artists including Train and the Zac Brown Band, and led to his own headlining shows at venues like The State Room in Salt Lake City.
Now, somewhat to his surprise, it’s brought him to “American Idol.”
‘I don’t think I was given the gift of music for myself’
“American Idol” is the latest chapter in Artis’ pursuit of a music career, but his love of music formed long before his appearance on any reality competition show.
It was a given in his home.
His father, Ron Artis, was a session musician who played keys on Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.” His mom, Victoria, toured as a backup vocalist with Lena Horne, per a bio on eddiesattic.com.
But his parents didn’t demand that their kids follow in their footsteps.
“The beautiful thing that our parents really enabled us to do was to dream — I think that was one of the most powerful things,” Artis said. “Even though we didn’t have much finances or anything, they were just kind of like, it’s important to dream and to have something that you want to do, and so we were able to kind of dabble in a lot of different things.”
Artis has other interests — pickleball, video games and martial arts, to name a few — but after his father died from a heart attack, he felt more inspired to embrace music.
And when he dropped music around the age of 17 or 18 to work at Jerry’s Pizza Mill in Waialua, to help out with his family’s finances, he knew after a year that he couldn’t let go of it ever again.
“I just felt like there was a hole in my heart and my soul, and I realized that music was more than something that I did, it was a part of who I was,” he said. “It was also a vehicle to carry a message that I needed to share with the world.
“I don’t think I was given the gift of music for myself,” he continued. “I think I was given it for others.”
A few years later, with that conviction, Artis found himself on “The Voice.”
Thunderstorm Artis becomes a finalist on ‘The Voice’
He had an impressive run on the show, making it all the way to the finale and placing third.
But his 2020 season was affected by COVID — in an unprecedented move, the show actually switched gears partway through the season to film remotely. After “The Voice,” with the music industry virtually shut down, it was hard for Artis to gain momentum.
The singer worked hard to get original music out there — something he didn’t really have at the time of “The Voice.”
His song, “Stronger,” was featured on the Season 19 premiere of “Grey’s Anatomy” (the version has been streamed more than 14 million times on Spotify). He opened for Train in the summer of 2023 (including a show at Salt Lake’s Red Butte Garden) and the Zac Brown Band later that year (including a show at Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre).
He went on his own tour last year and is working hard to grow his audience so he can keep touring his favorite cities — Salt Lake City included.
“Utah is very close to my heart,” he said. “I try to get there whenever I can.”
After “The Voice,” Artis never thought he’d do another reality competition show. But “American Idol” had reached out to him a handful of times, and finally, with some persuasion from a casting producer and the support of his wife, he decided to give it a chance.
“If God opens the door, this is something that I just have to step through,” Artis said. “I don’t need to know what’s on the other side of it. I just need to step through it and try, and maybe this will help with the exposure that I’ve been trying to get in my music.”
And his time on “American Idol” has been valuable — especially because it has allowed Artis to showcase a different side of his artistry and life than viewers got to see on “The Voice.”
Balancing family life on ‘American Idol’
“I feel like I’m a completely different human being than I was on ‘The Voice,’” Artis said.
That’s because a lot has changed for the singer in the five years since he competed on the show. He recently celebrated his fifth wedding anniversary on April 10 — he met his wife while he was filming “The Voice” — and he has two kids now.
On “The Voice,” his storyline was more about how music has been a source of healing, helping him to cope with the death of his father. On “Idol,” the focus has been more on him being a father — and inspiring his own kids through music.
And while he hopes to pass music on to his kids — his 2-year-old has a good sense of rhythm and already knows most of the words to his songs — he’s taking something his father always said to heart.
“I’m never going to force them to do music, but if they want to, I will teach them everything that I know,” he said.
On “Idol,” Artis has opened up about his wife and his kids through performing original music — something he didn’t get to explore too much on “The Voice,” which focuses more on having the contestants bring their own interpretations to well-known songs.
It feels truer to himself, he said, and having his family by his side in Los Angeles as he films “Idol” has made it even more special. He couldn’t do it — and wouldn’t want to do it — without them.
The filming schedule for “American Idol” is long — there’s a lot of behind the scenes footage that doesn’t make it on TV. Sometimes it feels like a 9 to 5 job, Artis said. But having his wife and kids with him through it all makes a world of difference.
“The support of my family really gives me a lot of the strength to really do this,” he said. “And getting to share these moments with my boys, even though they’re young, but getting to see me take a bet on myself, on something like this, has been really special.”
And to his surprise, even amid the stress of an intense competition like “Idol,” Artis has also found a lot of support in his fellow contestants.
‘Putting good out there in the world’
During Hollywood Week — the round of “Idol” that slashes the competition in half — an unexpected moment unfolded backstage.
A video circulating on Instagram shows several of the Season 23 competitors singing a worship song together — a moment that was completely unscripted, Artis said.
“It just felt like the spirit of the Lord was in the room,” he said. “And I think that for me was in a time where I was kind of shaky and I wasn’t sure if this was where I was supposed to be. But it was like, this is right where God wants me to be.”
For Artis, the love and encouragement the “Idol” contestants share with each other — even as they are competing against each other — has been one of the most rewarding parts of the show.
“Whether I win or lose, I want to also make sure that I’m helping everyone put their best foot forward,” he said. “I don’t want to see anyone get on stage and not do something great. I want to see them do the best they can offer.
“And if I’m not the last ‘American Idol,’ I’m going to celebrate whoever is.”
Because ultimately, Artis said, “Idol” is just another avenue for him to share the power of music. It’s helped to make his life more complete, and maybe, he says, it can do that for someone else.
“It’s putting good out there in the world — that’s what I want to do,” he said. “I just want to hopefully bring a little light with the amount of time that I’m here on this earth. It doesn’t matter how much fame I acquire or lack of fame I acquire, because I think I have something special to offer. I’m just putting it out there, and hopefully the world likes it.”
