Who is Blake Proehl? 'American Idol' Season 22 contestant pursued music after knee injury shattered his NFL dream
GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA: 'American Idol' Season 22 contestant Blake Proehl is a former footballer. Blake's father, Ricky Proeh, is a former wide receiver, who played 17 years in the NFL. His brother, Austin Proehl, was drafted in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills and now plays for the St Louis Battlehawks in the XFL.
Meanwhile, Blake played for East Carolina and signed with the Vikings as an undrafted free agent following the 2021 NFL Draft. Sadly, he suffered a torn ACL (knee injury) in training camp and had to miss his entire season. However, he spent his spare time working on his musical career. Blake returned to the football ground during the 2022 season but failed to cope with the Vikings due to his injury and spent the entire season on the practice squad.
In the preview of his audition, Blake explained that some doctors believed he wouldn't be able to run after suffering the knee injury. He shared, "I grew up in a football family." Blake added, "But I got a really bad injury. Doctors said 'It'll be a success story if you're able to run again.'"
However, Blake then turned his musical passion into a full-time career and auditioned for 'American Idol' Season 22 while putting his NFL dream to halt. During his audition, Blake performed a cover of Brett Young's 'In Case You Didn’t Know'. ABC show judges, Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan were impressed by Blake's voice.
Blake Proehl credits his grandma for his singing
Blake Proehl credited his grandmother for his singing career. He was joined by his grandmother during his 'American Idol' Season 22 auditions. He shared, "I think I just found music super healing, and my grandma is the reason why I'm here."
He told judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan, about his grandmother. "She's the reason why I have any confidence at all to be in this room," Blake said. He became an internet sensation after his video went viral on social media. After his performance, Katy said, "Every grandma thinks that their grandchildren are great, but you’re right."
In 2021, Blake shared a TikTok video of himself playing the piano and singing for the first time in front of his grandmother, which received nearly 4 million likes. He currently amassed nearly 600K followers on TikTok, where he posts videos of himself singing covers of emotional pop songs like 'Wish You The Best' and 'Someone You Loved' by Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi.
Blake Proehl started his music career in 2022
After Blake Proehl's video with his grandma went viral, he released his first single 'Falling for You' in March 2022. The rising pop singer's song became a huge hit with 400K Spotify streams followed by a second single 'Where You Need To Be'. Surprisingly, another video of him singing went viral as he had a backyard concert for Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.
Blake performed live for the first time in June, opening for Grae at New York City’s Rockwood Music Hall. According to his profile, Blake has been writing songs "almost every day" and has a full lineup recorded and ready to drop in the coming months. He has also headlined a show at Minneapolis's hallowed First Avenue.
Blake shared in his profile about his upcoming project, "Realistically, I think the sky's the limit." He added, "He's a down-the-middle pop artist, which is one of the hardest sectors to break into, but if you make it you’re a household name. He checks every box: He has a great story, he’s a good-looking dude, he writes great music, he has an amazing voice and a platform."
'American Idol' Season 22 premieres on Sunday, February 18, at 8 pm ET on ABC.