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From the “Ouachitonian”: Ethan Kuntz

March 09, 2020 - Mitch Colburn

Previously published in the 2019 Ouachitonian yearbook

For Ethan Kuntz, a sophomore music industry major from Murfreesboro, Ark., while one opportunity didn’t work out, it ultimately led to the opportunity of a lifetime: beginning his music career. According to Kuntz, it all came about at a young age.

“It all started when I was 15,” said Kuntz. “I had been playing for just about 8 to 10 months, and I really fell in love with music.”

This led him to try competing in a contest in Hope, Ark.

“There was a contest at the Hope Watermelon Festival called Watermelon Idol,” said Kuntz. “It was on a Tuesday, and if you placed in the top five, you got to come back on Saturday, open for Sammy Kershaw and win $300. I prepared my song for about two weeks. I went over there, and I felt like I did a really good job. I waited for two hours, but I didn’t make the top five, so I was pretty bummed.”

That’s when his mother made a big suggestion: she suggested that he try out for Season 15 (which was then supposed to be the final season) of American Idol. They headed to the Little Rock auditions.

“We went to Little Rock, and the producers liked what they heard,” said Kuntz. “We went home, then the next morning we went back to Little Rock and made it through two more rounds.”

Eventually, Kuntz was able to audition in front of the judges, and actually made it to Hollywood, where he made it through two more rounds to the top 200 out of the nearly 100,000 people who tried out.

According to Kuntz, the actual process of going through auditions was a rather long and tedious one.

“You walk into the arena, and they put you in sections,” said Kuntz. “They start at the very bottom and line everyone up. I was in the very last section, so I waited for about six or seven hours. When we went down there, there were three producers, and we went up in lines of three. The lines of three would go up, and they would listen to each person. They would say, ‘Okay, tell us your story. Why do you want to be on American Idol?’”

After listening to Kuntz’s story, the producers directed him to table eight, which was the table where filming was taking place.

“It was good and bad,” said Kuntz. “It was good because they were filming. It was also a bad situation because that’s where most of the people who weren’t very good went. It was like, ‘Am I one of those people who are really bad?’”

Fortunately for Kuntz, the producers, judges and past winner and Arkansas native Kris Allen liked what they heard.

His experience in Hollywood was a fun and unique one.

“Hollywood was so fun because you never know who you’re really going to see,” said Kuntz. “It was a really cool experience just to see how much was going on in L.A.”

It was during this time that he made a special friend, Trent Harmon, who later became the Season 15 winner.

“My best friend that I made out there was Trent Harmon, who won the show,” said Kuntz. “He would text me, like, ‘Hey, man, I made it to the top 24,’ and he kept me informed, which was cool.”

Finally, when asked to give advice to any aspiring musicians out there, Kuntz said this: “Stay humble. Once you get cocky, there’s always going to be someone better than you. Learning from other musicians can take you a long way. That’s how I got to improve. Also, don’t quit. Stay persistent.”