Josh King

Some Lesser Known Facts About Josh King

• Josh King was born in Charlotte, North Carolina and raised in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

• He is a multi-instrumentalist who can play the diatonic harmonica, chromatic harmonica, and play piano in several genres.

• Josh completed his early education by homeschooling and graduated through distance learning.

• He was interested in music and singing since childhood. In an interview, he mentioned that when he was six years old, he started learning a musical instrument, and the first instrument he learnt was a harmonica. He added that it took almost 5 years to learn to play the harmonica perfectly.

• King learned to play the piano when he was 13.

• At the age of 13, he sang the national anthem at Bank of America Stadium during a football match.

  

• Josh King was mentored by the renowned American blues harmonica player, singer and songwriter James Cotton. Cotton encouraged Josh to sing, write music, and explore music beyond the blues genre to discover his unique sound in music. James Cotton considered King as his musical grandson.

  

• During an interview, Josh revealed that one of the first times he performed in public was with his mentor. Cotton also took him to Canada to play harmonica and sing for an audience of 10,000 people.

• When Josh was 17, he also volunteered as a performer at local hospitals in North Carolina and at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, North Carolina, where he plays the grand piano in the airport’s atrium.

• Josh has also performed with renowned American singers Tommy Emmanuel, Buddy Guy, Jonny Lang, Fred Yonnet, and Kim Wilson. He had also performed in America’s famous band, The Fabulous Thunderbirds.

• In addition to performing in the U.S., he has performed multiple times in the UK and Dubai.

• Josh hasn’t released any original music of his yet. But he has snippets of a couple of originals on his Instagram handle.

• In 2024, when he auditioned for American Idol Season 23, he sang “Over the Rainbow” by Judy Garland. He received criticism, and even a no from the judge Carrie Underwood for being stuck in the lounge mode. However, he got the chance for the Hollywood week round of American Idol Season 23 (2025).

  

• In an interview, Josh shared that reaching his audition location in Nashville was quite difficult due to road closures caused by Hurricane Helene in 2024.

• In an interview, Josh mentioned that Hollywood week was very hectic for him due to the short turnaround time between the rounds and the severe lack of sleep.

• In the Hollywood week round, he had given a duet performance with another contestant, MKY. Their performance earned appreciation from the judges and a place in the Top 24 on American Idol Season 23.

  

• In an interview, he mentioned that he had developed a close bond with American Idol fellow contestant Grayson.

• Josh King loves photography, and he often captured his fellow contestants on the American Idol set.