The Voice – Battle Round

By starrymag | March 17, 2016

Q) Jessica and for Shalyah, I know Maya had a hint that she might be stolen, but I don’t think either one of you did. So I was wondering what was running through your mind when the verdict was announced? And how do you feel about the matchup with your new coach?

 

Jessica Crosbie:  I honestly in that moment completely forgot that a steal was even an option. It was so intense and overwhelming and I was so focused on the moment, that when I was saying thank you to Pharrell and then going down and saying goodbye, I truly thought that that was it and I was going home.  So when I got stolen, I was completely shocked and in fact, I didn’t even notice that I got stolen. Pharrell had to tell me to go back on stage. So I definitely was not thinking on that mind path that I was going to get stolen and move teams. I really thought that once Nick was announced the winner, that I was going home. So that was such an amazing surprise for me.

 

Q) And how do you feel about the matchup with Adam now?

 

Jessica Crosbie: I’m so happy. I definitely considered all of my options during the blinds and really thought about what each coach could offer me. And Adam was definitely up there in wanting to work with him, so now I feel like I get the best of both worlds.

 

Shalyah Fearing:   Yes. To be honest, I didn’t think I was going to get stolen. I mean, well, I went on stage with the thought in my head that I was going to do my best ad that’s exactly what I did. And it was shocking for me to get a steal. And I was just so happy in that moment because you go onstage thinking you don’t know what’s going to happen, so you go onstage thinking you’re going to stay on the team or go home. So it was amazing to me to get stolen by Pharrell. And I’m very happy and grateful that he still sees a lot in me that I still have to offer and learn. So I’m just happy to be still in. I’m happy both me and Tamar made it through on the show.

 

Q) Kata, a lot of the coaches seem to have chosen Chelsea as the winner of the battle. How did you feel when Christina said your name?

 

Kata Hay:  I was absolutely shocked. I really was standing there preparing myself to go home. And I was happy for Chelsea. And I had prepared myself for that to happen. But that’s why I started to cry, because it was the craziest emotion because I completely was in shock

 

Q) For each of the winners, tell me what you thought of the song you performed — whether it was something you’d performed before and what you think you were able to do with it that made you the winner?

 

Tamar Davis:  It was pretty terrific.

 

Mary Sarah: Wonderful. About the song choice, I was actually super excited to know that we were singing Louisiana Woman, Mississippi Man. When they told us, it was so funny, like a week before that I had been listening to that song in my car. And I was like this would actually be a really good battle song. And then to get to be told we were singing the song was like my gosh, I totally guessed it. But like, it was so cool.  And as far as winning, it kind of blew me away, you know, I was standing up there because Justin gave his all. I mean, he was so amazing and he worked so hard and he’s such a great guy and deserves the world. And I know he’s going to do great things after this. But I think, you know, I gave my all too and you know I think it was a 50-50. In my head, standing there I was just feeling this could go either way so be ready for you know whether Justin wins or steals or whatever. So in my head, I was just grateful to be on that stage and thankful that I got to sang that song because Loretta’s one of my idols. And so to get to perform her song on the stage was absolutely an honor. And it was just such a cool experience.

 

Nick Hagelin:  I was actually happy with the song choice because it was a song I was familiar with. I actually hadn’t performed it before but I had been listening to the song for as long as it’s been out. I’ve been aware of the song and enjoyed the song. So we didn’t have a lot of time to prepare for our song before we met (Diddy) and Pharrell, so I was just grateful that I had heard the song and was somewhat familiar with it when the news came in that we were going to be singing it. So I felt good about it and I feel like I was able to sort of approach the song without feeling like I needed to change it much. It sat in a comfortable place for me and it was a male song and it was an up tempo song. So I felt like I was able to sort of just enjoy myself and I didn’t have a lot of nerves around that particular song choice. So, I was very grateful for the selection and I think it allowed me to sort of just relax and enjoy myself during the performance, which is what hopefully came through.

 

Kata Hay:  I was ecstatic when I heard that we were getting I’m the Only One, because that’s a song I actually sing at the karaoke bar all the time. And similar to Mary Sarah, about like two weeks before I left, I was singing it on stage and I was thinking I could actually see me doing this on The Voice. I never thought that it would be the battle song, because thinking of it as a duet. But then once I heard that I was getting to sing that with Chelsea and it’s such a strong, powerful woman song. And singing it with a strong, powerful woman, we were both ecstatic about it. And I love Melissa Etheridge and she’s a fiery woman and I think I just put that in there. And I think Chelsea killed it and made it her own and I feel like it was 50-50 and it could’ve gone either way. And I mean, I’m just glad Christina saw whatever it was that I was able to put into the performance, because Chelsea, she’s out of this world.

 

Nate Butler:  Me and Natalie had never really heard of the song when we got it. It was new for us. We were learning it from scratch. But I feel like we changed the key a little bit and I was able to navigate it pretty well and knew where I was going. And so Natalie really gave it 110%. But so did I and it was just one of those things where it could’ve gone either way. And Adam chose the person that he thought he could move on with, you know, more confidently. And, you know, I’m just grateful that he chose me. I felt it was an interesting song choice. But just happy that it worked out.

 

Q) Was it a decent fit for you vocally?

 

Nate Butler:  Not in the original key, no. We had to change it. But once we changed it, yes, I mean, it was in a nice, powerful spot in my voice. Was able to slip into falsetto sometimes and really show off the chest voice and stuff like that. I was really able to show off everything I could do. And yes, just happy that I was moving up.

 

Tamar Davis: I have performed Lady Marmalade several times, but it was such a different experience because I was performing it with someone else. But Shalyah, like brought her A game like never before. Like it just put me to a whole different space of bringing something else to the table, I guess. And it was having fun at the moment, but really like Shalyah said either one of us could’ve one. Like I didn’t even look at it like I won it. Like I had no clue. But at the same time, we were performing an iconic song. Patti LaBelle and then our advisor was Patti LaBelle and then Christina came and remade it. So it was just something new. Even though I performed it several times, it still was like I performed it for the first time.

 

Hannah Huston: So, when we had received the email of what song we would be performing for our battle, I looked at Maya — because we live together — and I was like do you know this song? And both of us had heard it but had never maybe sung it through like a full time or anything. So when we began learning it, it was like we have to learn new words. It was just a lot of just different things that we had to learn about the song. And so, the first rehearsal I felt like we were still so new to the song. But then over time, we just kind of fell in love with it and put our own little twist on it. And I thought it went really well. It was really fun to sing with Maya. She brings something really new to the table. And I thought it is such an interesting part of the show is this, you know, whole battle section of these two different voices who blend together on a song. So yes, it was a really fun song to sing. It comes from a really deep, dark place of there’s just a lot of hurt. It was an interesting song selection, but I totally get why Pharrell gave us it. It was a challenge and kind of was an equalizer just to learn something new and really challenge both of us.

 

Q)  Maya, I believe you were the only stolen contestant with an actual choice on who you could go with as a coach. And I was wondering why you went with Christina?

 

Maya Smith: I went with Christina mainly because, well first of all, I’ve been a fan of Christina’s probably just as long as I’ve been a fan of Pharrell. And I’ve always admired her for her powerhouse voice, and just she’s everything. She’s the queen, you know? But another reason why I chose her is because she – it was her second time pressing her button for me. And she really fought for me both times. She fought for me in the blind and she also fought for me that day. So I just decided I had to go with Christina. I couldn’t let her down twice.

 

Q) Mary Sarah, I wanted to know what kind of artist do you see yourself like?

 

Mary Sarah:  Man, that’s kind of a loaded question I guess.  I was raised on the traditional country music like Loretta and Patsy Cline, but I also have such influences like Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert and Kasey Musgrave. I think growing up watching those women do what they do and the way they perform, I think it’s taught me so much that fans are so important and to perform, you want to make people feel what you’re feeling and you want to make them feel the song. And so that was my main goal, I feel like going into the battle with Justin was just to have people feel the music and feel the song and almost feel the love because Louisiana Woman Mississippi Man, between the two of us. And so I think that was what was motivating me the most when performing that song.

 

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*