Korin Bukowski – The Voice

By starrymag | December 3, 2015

Q) When you were up there, it seemed like you were like going through your head like no, not again. How did you feel, like having to be a third time up there battling against someone for your survival?

A) Well, it eats at your soul a little bit every time you have to be up there. But yes, I was upset. I was just like not again kind of feeling. But you just pull through as best as you possibly can.

Q) When you finally got the results was it more so like I knew it was going to happen? Did you know? Did you have a feeling? Or did you just push through it and hope for the best?

A) I mean, I had a feeling about the results because of the way my performance went out. I was just too emotional. I got my – my emotions just took too much of a handle on me and my performance, and I had a feeling. But I’m very happy for my friend and fellow teammate, Braiden. But, honestly, sometimes you never know how the results are going to pan out because I didn’t think the past two times I would get saved. So I was still holding onto that.

Q) So I guess would you mind elaborating a little bit more on your survival performance of Try There? I know you said you were very emotional. Was that sort of because just the pressure of the competition was getting to you? And I guess was there a little piece of you that almost felt I’d like to go home now, like the competition had sort of stopped being fun at this point?

A) There is a time where the competition becomes very stressful, but it’s always fun. We all sometimes feel ready to leave. I didn’t feel ready to leave. I was feeling tired, but not ready to go. But what happened to me was like – what happened to me was just two times being saved, having to be there a third time. I was really emotional and then the song is an emotional song. And it means – everything about the song is how I felt throughout my whole life, so it was just a lot of emotion at once. And I guess it just let them overwhelm me too much during the performance. But I wouldn’t say I felt ready to leave necessarily but I was getting tired. We all get tired at this point of the competition.

Q) Gwen offered a little criticism for being very focused on her team members’ style and haircuts and things like that rather than paying real attention to like picking a good song choice and the vocals and whatnot. I guess considering the fact Braiden Sunshine was also in the bottom two with you last night, what are your thoughts on all that?

A) Well, Gwen likes to help us find different parts of ourselves and try and feel comfortable with who we are through that. And for me, you know, we tried a lot of different styles and different hairdos, and it was an amazing experience and I feel like through that, I gained a larger appreciation for almost who I was at the beginning of the competition. And I’m so thankful to her for that. She does actually help us a lot with songs. Like I was in her trailer and we were discussing songs last week for this week’s competition or this week’s performance. So it was really – she really does care about our singing as well as our look and stuff, because she’s just all about the package deal when it comes to like a star quality kind of thing. And I don’t know, Braiden, I don’t know why he was down there with me. I love my little kiddo teammate. He gave a great performance, but I really don’t know what that was based off of.

Q) How has Selena Gomez helped you throughout the process along with you coach, Gwen?

A) I got to meet Selena Gomez at the battle round and she was an absolute delight. And she was so nice and just made sure to let us know to be ourselves on stage and to emote well with the song that I was given. I was given Samson at battle. That’s a very emotional song. And she just tried to tell us to make sure that we were honest on stage and were comfortable with ourselves and stage. And she helped us a lot with that. And Gwen yes, same thing. She’s always been telling me, “I want that awkward, quirky girl to be on stage. I want that.” And then one time I was like serious or something and she was goes, “I don’t like you like that. I don’t like you serious.” And I was laughing because I don’t like when I’m serious, too. I can’t take myself seriously. But she’s also helped me just embrace the person that I am and it’s ok to be who you are and it doesn’t matter what people say about you.

Q) And what would you say your favorite performance throughout The Voice that you performed was?

A) My favorite was actually my knockout. I really loved that song and I loved performing it and it was the most fun I’ve had on the show in total.

Q) So looking forward now, kid of what are your plans for the future in terms of your career?

A) I don’t know. I’m just like, I’m trying to give myself like a day. But we all think about the future at some point, even before our elimination. And I don’t know. I’m definitely trying to keep on the radar. I’m going to stay very active on social media — my Instagram, my Twitter account, on Facebook. But I’d love to write music. I’d love to get some music out there that I’ve been working on. And I don’t know, just try and pursue that passion that I started this competition with.

Q) Knowing that song would’ve gotten you so emotional last night, would you still have chosen to do it, or would you have done something a little different?

A) I think I wouldn’t take back anything that happened last night because I entered this competition an awkward, confused, quirky person. And I feel like throughout the competition, I lost a little bit of myself and I lost my magical quality. And I feel like I exited the same way I entered, and I wouldn’t take that back for the world.

Q) And was there a little extra pressure performing against one of your teammates? I guess it’s a little different to another team member. So how did that affect the performance?

A) It is difficult because although we get close to everyone in the competition, I’m with my teammates most. And Braiden’s one of the sweetest kids and he’s very huggy, like he hugs us all the time and he’s very loveable. So it was difficult. But I honestly wasn’t very worried about him. He’s just a really talented kid. Of course it’s difficult to go against him, but we all have to go against people we don’t want to in this competition because we all become close. So no matter who I was down there with, it would’ve not been fun.

Q) I wanted to know if there was anything that you still had in your pocket you haven’t showed America that you were waiting for a certain part in the competition to show everyone?

A) I don’t know. I think I’ve shown a lot of different sides to my voice. But there were things that I wanted to do, like I wanted to change up some songs and do them on the show. I wanted to show off my artistic side a little more, and I feel like I didn’t get to do that because that’s the kind of artist I want to be is an artistic one. And I feel like that’s how I entered was a little different and unique and that’s the direction I really want to go in. So I just wanted to show my artistic side a little more.

Q) And then if you were to ever do a song with Gwen, what do you think the song would be like?

A) I would sound dreadful on it, but I would love to sing I’m Just A Girl, only because I used to sing it in my band room when I was like six years old every day.

Q) Through this whole competition, Gwen has consistently said that she sees some of her in you. Can you talk a little bit about what you think that something is and how it makes you feel?

A) Well first of all, like meeting your idol is amazing but second of all to realize that you get along so well and you connect so well is just totally, I’m lost for – it’s amazing and other-worldly. And I think what she means when she says is we’re both in our lives in similar journeys trying to find a place where we feel comfortable in ourselves and in our lives. And we do share a lot in common in that way. We have very similar spiritual journeys going on and ahead of us. And we also – we’re actually very similar in a lot of different ways, like the way we act is very similar sometimes. We just get along very well and we understand each other on a very different level than I feel like a lot of people have the privilege of getting to know their coaches.

Q) After you performed and you were standing with Carson Daly, you had tears in your eyes. And the judges were so kind ad they were talking about how they’ve all done it. Can you talk about how they’ve all forgotten lyrics? Can you talk a little bit about how that made you feel?

A) I mean, it’s very embarrassing and very upsetting to have that happen to you. But I do understand that it’s happened to everyone. Might happen under unfortunate circumstances, but yes, having the coaches be so supportive of me was really heartwarming to have that support, especially at a difficult moment. And having Gwen stand up, like physically stand up and explain why that happened to me, because she understands me so well. She knew that happened to me because I was just so emotional. And having those circumstances and then that emotional song on top of it and then to go against someone I love on the show, she understood right on the head why that happened to me on that stage. And it was so amazing to have all of them just understand. So it was really heartwarming.

Q) I wanted to ask a little bit more about your future. You came into the competition as a pre-med student. Now you’ve enjoyed all this success on The Voice. What is going to be your focus moving forward? Are you going back to your studies for pre-med? Or are you going to focus on music from this point on?

A) This show has just flipped my life upside down. This was never in the realm of possibility. I auditioned because I was like what could I possibly lose? I love to sing and I just want to see what might happen. And I never knew I would even get a chair turn. Getting top ten is the most incredible thing that has happened to me, success-wise. And I don’t know. I really, truly believe I might pursue music. I think I’m going to do it, because the reason I auditioned for this show was because I wasn’t happy where I was. And I just really want to pursue what I love. And it’s shown that I love to perform. I love to sing music and that’s what I want to do.

Q) Now, what type of music can fans expect from you?

A) I love all different music, but I would love to perform very anthem-y like indie rock, indie pop kind of tunes like anthem-y or kind of like haunting. I love those kind of sounds, like my knockout performance. I love music like that and I love to sing music like that. Or a lot of music that’s similar to fun or Ellie Goulding, stuff like that is pretty much the realm I’d like to go down.

Q) Do you think you would’ve benefited from having another coach at some point, like maybe having been stolen at a particular time in the competition? And I guess, if you couldn’t work with Gwen, which other coach would you have picked?

A) I think anyone could really benefit from learning from a different coach at some point in the competition, because each one is so different and has success from different ways that you could’ve learned something much different. I could learn things so much different from like Pharrell [Williams] or Blake [Shelton] than I could learn from Adam or Gwen because each one is just so different. And that’s why they’re on this show. So I could’ve learned something new. But I think I would’ve ended up in the same place I was meant to end up. I don’t know who I would love to work with. They’re all so great. I think I would love to work with maybe Adam, just because we – I think he has a similar like idea, like the closest kind of artist to me that there is next to Gwen. So maybe Adam [Levine].

Q) I heard you mention earlier in the call something about you feeling like you kind of lost your magic along the way in the competition. Could you talk about that a little bit? I guess like what caused you to sort of lose yourself, if that’s what you were trying to say.

A) I myself, I’m not a competitive person and I don’t like competing against my friends — which I guess I entered the wrong show for that. But, you know, as you go along and see people leave, it really hurts you and it hurts your soul and it was hard for me to see my friends go. So it became more of a task than fun. But it is a lot of fun to do this show. But it is stressful. It’s just finding that balance and I had a hard time finding that balance. And I don’t know. I just feel like I lost myself in there, in the (sauce) somehow. And I was trying to kind of dig my way out. But I’m happy it happened because I grew a deep appreciation for who I was when I entered this show and who I am as I left this show.

Q) What advice would you have for young singers who admire you?

A) I have so much advice. What I would tell myself if I was younger is that don’t let anyone tell you you can’t, because you most definitely can do whatever you want to do. And it’s up to you to do it. You’re in control of what you do at this point in your life and further. I just want people to believe in themselves a little more because I didn’t and I wish I did, because I might be here – I might’ve been in this competition earlier. Who knows what could’ve happened. I just want people who doubt themselves to not doubt themselves, and I want people to be comfortable and love who they are right now and be accepting of that because that is what makes you unique. That’s what you should be confident in and that’s what people like seeing. They like seeing people who are confident in who they are and that will get you success. That will bring you success in life.

Q) And would you recommend competitions such as The Voice to other young singers, such as a friend from home? If so, why or why not?

A) I say do it. It’s an amazing experience. I do think you need to have a good head on your shoulders and be a little bit more resilient because it is hard. It’s a competition, after all. And we like to call it The Hunger Games. It’s fun and it’s great. You meet amazing people. You do amazing, incredible things. But it is hard. You grow like a family. You grow close to each other, and it’s hard to see them go. And it’s difficult to leave as well because you work on this show for so long, even prior to blind auditions you were working on this show. And it’s a little difficult to build yourself back up. So I’d say do it if this is what you want to do and it’s your passion because if it’s your passion, you’ll let nothing get in your way. So I say do it.

Q) So kind of looking back at your journey, kind of what have you learned the most about being on the show? Kind of what are you taking away from this experience?

A) The biggest thing I’ve learned is just to be more comfortable with who I am, because it’s something I’ve struggled with forever. And I’m more, because of all the things I went through, I have a greater appreciation for who I am because I have so many fans and so many supporters — more than I ever thought I would. And it just shows me that people look up to me, and that’s so amazing to have people look up to you. I’ve just always wanted to inspire others. And also another thing I’ve taken out of this is for a lot of people, this journey has meant to get their name out there more or their music out there more. Bu for me, the journey has been very different. I’ve only been singing mainstream music for about a year, and I didn’t know who I was or who I wanted to be as an artist. And trying out different looks, different styles, different songs and different music, I have a greater understanding of who I want to be as an artist and as a musician.

Q) I just wanted to ask now that you’re on the outside looking in, what is your prediction for winner for the show?

A) That is so difficult to say. I don’t have any idea. I really have no idea. I can honestly say I don’t know. Everyone is so crazy amazingly good, so it’s really difficult to tell. Sorry, I really have no idea because you look at Jordan [Smith] and he’s just this anomaly and he can sing these things that no one else can and he’s an amazing person. And Amy’s [Vachal] just so artistic and so suave and amazing on stage. And then there’s like Zach [Seabaugh], who’s just this lady killer and just brings it on stage all the time. And then, it’s just there’s so many amazing artists, it’s hard to tell.

Q) And now we’re playing Wednesday morning quarterback. What would you do differently now that you saw your performance and saw what happened and how you got to the bottom two, like on – actually yes, the bottom two the last three weeks. What would you do differently?

A) There’s not anything I would have done differently. I think this is where I was meant to be and you know, I would’ve loved to show my artistic side more on the show. But there’s – I regret nothing. Everything I did was for purpose and it had reason and this was my fate and this is what was meant to happen. And I’m ok with that.

Q) What would you say is one of your signature thing of your image? What would you say is you? Would it be your hair, your range? I know when you first came on The Voice, one of the first things the judges noticed was your incredible range. What is your signature look?

A) I just think my personality, honestly. Not saying I have the best personality, but definitely I think a lot of people can relate to it. I’ve never been a comfortable person. I’ve always been uncomfortable, and a lot of people think that’s not ok. And I think I’m an ambassador for saying that is ok and that’s just who you are and just own it.

Q) So could you tell me a little bit of life behind the scenes with The Voice and other contestants?

A) That’s my favorite part of the whole show, honestly. It’s incredible to meet – like aside from meeting celebrities and having to work with them, that stuff is just amazing. It’s dream world. But behind the scenes, you get to talk to such incredible people that are on the same journey as you and no one — not your best friends — will understand what you went through on this show, not a one. And all these people do. And to have such a support system with you and people understanding how you feel, what you’re going through is just, there’s no words for it. And it’s so much fun backstage. Behind the scenes is so much fun because we’re all jokesters and I’ve made friends for life and we just have a blast.

Q) And do you think this a friendship that is post-The Voice that you guys will continue throughout life in your careers?

A) Yes. I’ve made friends for life here. Just not only the contestants but the cast – or the staff as well. I’ve made friends for a lifetime.

Q) Do you have a best friend on The Voice?

A) I would say I have three — Evan McKeel. Unfortunately, he left last week. Amy Vachal and then Jordan Smith, we’re all a big squad.

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*