The Voice – Battle Rounds – Night Three – 2018

By starrymag | April 2, 2018

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

Q) Britton, I keep seeing stuff all over Facebook about people being excited about you and your performances.  I know after your first appearance we talked about that, but how are you feeling now about – a few weeks later and then after last night?

 

Britton Buchanan: You know, I’m feeling really good.  The support has been overwhelming.  It’s been crazy you know?  It feels like everyone here has just got their arms open and they’re very supportive.  And it’s pretty awesome.

 

Q) Britton, Ed Sheeran is not easy to pull off and you hear Alicia saying just let it go, just belt it.  How did you feel about singing that song in particular?

 

Britton Buchanan: I really like that song a lot.  Ed Sheeran is a really cool dude.  I like his music.  I own everything he’s put out and I’ve done that song in my shows since it came out a couple years ago.  And it’s just an awesome song and it shows so much range.  And I don’t know, I think it’s beautiful.  So just to have a song that I have been performing for a couple years now and a song that I like a lot, I felt really fortunate.

 

Q) You talked also on the show about your nervousness.  I noticed and I think Alicia or Shawn said just smile and it will help the nerves go.  And I noticed as soon as you started performing, you grinned a little bit.  Was that part of that overcoming that nervousness?

 

Britton Buchanan: Yes, you know, I’ve been playing guitar, doing stuff for 10 years now — over half my life — and the only time I get nervous is when there’s not a lot of people there.  So being in a room with just Alicia and Shawn — two people — really freaked me out.  But I feel at home on stage.  It’s where I spent all of my weekends for every month for, like, the last five or six years. So when I’m on stage, naturally, it’s just easier for me to calm down and let loose.  But being in that room with Alicia Keys and Shawn Mendes really spaced me out, man.  I got so nervous.

 

Q)  Yes well it seems like you handled it pretty well in the end.  I wasn’t able to stop by but you visited Karma in downtown Sanford the last weekend and you already mentioned about the support. What was that like coming back to people asking for your autograph and getting pictures, you know, about – after all this?

 

Britton Buchanan: It was different.  I don’t know, I’m not used to it because, I’ve never taken a lot of pictures or anything for anybody before.  So it was different.  But it was fun.  I mean, the line was long.  People showed up.  We had about 150 people show up and there was a lot of stuff going on downtown too. Temple Theater had a show going on and a bunch of people were playing in restaurants.  So the fact that people took time out of their day just to line up to take a picture with me and shake my hand and have me sign something, it was very humbling.

 

Q) Definitely.  Definitely.  Have you ever performed something like that with Jaclyn where you guys were battling against each other but it’s also a duet sort of.  That’s a unique situation.  What was that like? 

 

Britton Buchanan: I think Jaclyn’s and my main purpose was to just make a good duet.  I don’t think either one of us were really interested in necessarily competing with each other.  So the main goal was to create an environment where the person that lost would have the opportunity to stay on the show through a steal.  And we were trying to accomplish that through making a good solid duet. And we did that.  I’m really, really proud of it.  The response to the song has been amazing and overwhelming. And we’re rocking the charts right now and we were on billboard.com, and it was just crazy.

 

Q) Well, I’m a big Ed Sheeran fan so I personally really enjoy that song already.  What are your thoughts as you head into the next stage of the competition? 

 

Britton Buchanan: Yes I’ve just got to keep myself out of my own way. I’m excited for everyone to see what comes next. It’s hard to put it in words.  It’s been so crazy.  We got home last night and I couldn’t sleep.  I stayed awake until 2:00 in the morning and then woke up at 6:00 to carry my brother to school. So the last 24 hours have been unbelievable and I am so ready.  You know, there was a month in between my blind airing and this airing.  The blind was on February 26 and this was on March 26.  So I’m grateful that we’re heading right into the next part of this and I’m excited to share it with everybody.

 

Q) Definitely.  This one is going to come a lot quicker for you.  Good deal.

 

Britton Buchanan: Which is great.  That month – buffer period was just excruciating.

 

 

Q) Kaleb, did you grow up a Tom Petty fan?  What was it like singing that song?

 

Kaleb Lee:   I didn’t grow up a Tom Petty fan per se.  I mean, I’ve always loved his music.  He’s an icon for sure – or was an icon and just an incredible, incredible songwriter, incredible musician.  And that was in itself the challenge of doing that song on the stage.  I mean, it was just one of those songs you just don’t mess with and I thought Pryor and I had a lot of fun doing that.

 

Q) It sounds like you guys have a lot of fun in general because I noticed he was cutting up with you earlier at the start of the conference call.  So pretty good camaraderie there.

 

Kaleb Lee: Yes, there’s certain circumstances you meet certain people that you, you’re, like, you know that guy is going to be a friend for life.  And Pryor is definitely that guy.  We spent a lot of time together in a hotel room getting ready for the blind, so we got to know each other pretty well.  And he’s a genuine guy, give the shirt off his back, just that kind of guy.  He’s just a great guy to go on stage with as well.

 

Q) What was going through your mind those moments before Kelly Clarkson took you – or stole you for her team?

 

Kaleb Lee:  It’s funny because Pryor and I walked into that, you know, we walked into it just knowing that all we had to do was just put on a good performance, and have fun, and do what we do.  At the end of the day, that’s what I truly felt like we did.  I mean, we had such a good time on stage.  Rehearsal before that was on point and so I walked away feeling really, really good no matter what was going to happen.  I was obviously pretty bummed when Blake didn’t pick me but so super stoked for Pryor.  I mean, it was one of those bittersweet moments.   And then all of a sudden, Kelly hits her button and I didn’t have to give up music near as long this time as I did last time.  So it was a super exciting thing to know that I was still in, still getting to hang on and hang out with the guys like Pryor, and keep doing what I love.

 

Q) What are your thoughts going forward now?

 

Kaleb Lee:  I’m stoked.  I loved being on Blake’s team but there’s just something special about Kelly, her energy, her spirit, and I know there’s definitely a connection.  I mean, she obviously mentioned before where she had connected with me at my blind audition. And she kept pursuing and obviously, stole me.  So I’m excited about that.  I think there’s something magical there and looking forward to what’s to come.

 

Q) Kaleb, when you started in your blind auditions, you choose Team Blake even though Kelly really fought for you and now she’s gotten the chance to have you on her team.  So what are your thoughts about that kind of going full circle?

 

Kaleb Lee:  You know it’s kind of crazy.  I fought a lot harder the first time when both of them turned their chairs than I thought I would.  I was pretty confident that if Blake turned in the blind audition that I was going to go with Blake and I processed – it’s part of that deal – you process that.  You really figure out what you want or what could happen, all these different scenarios. And when Blake turned, I knew that was the case.  But then Kelly came in and put on a really good pitch.  And it really made me think hard.   And at the end of the day, I went with my gut.  But in the back of my mind, I knew that Kelly was a fan and so that definitely gave me some additional confidence going into the next round too.  Knowing that I had someone else there.  No matter what the outcome was I had someone else there as far as the coaches are concerned that liked what they saw at least the first time. So hopefully there was another one.  And she did.  She continued to like the song we did and I think there’s going to be a great connection moving forward.

 

Q)  And you talked a little bit, in your video segment about putting music on the backburner and I know we’ve spoken about that in the past as well.  So how does it feel to be performing music again after such a long time?

 

Kaleb Lee:   It’s so good.  I mean, it’s been almost 10 years and the last 6 of those years, I picked up a guitar in my living room and around a campfire but I haven’t played out at all, zero.  The blinds for me was a big – like, I kind of got thrust into that thing and it was shaking off the rust, and the nerves were at 11 for me.  And I usually don’t get very nervous and so that was a unique feeling.  But that next round, going out on stage with Pryor to sing that song it was a – nerves were back down to normal and it was kind of like getting back on a bike. I’m still excited to, you know, get back into this groove that I was in years ago.  I think I’ve got a little more rust to dust off but I’m super excited.  I’m motivated now for sure.

 

 

Q)  There has been just a huge response on the Central Coast.  What’s your reaction to seeing all the support from your home town of Old Town Orcutt?

 

Pryor Baird:  I think I can go ahead and speak for all of us when I say that we’re all just blown away.  I mean it goes from zero to a thousand miles an hour overnight.  So it’s awesome to see but it’s still very – it’s overwhelming but it’s really cool to see.

 

Q) Talk to me about working with Blake.  All of the judges were begging for you to choose them after your blind audition.  Why did you choose Blake and what have you picked up from him so far? 

 

Pryor Baird:  You know, it’s kind of a hard answer to put out there.

 

Q) Why did you choose his team?

 

Pryor Baird:   I just chose him because he’s just – you know, he’s a normal guy.  I have the most in common with him than I do with anybody else.  I feel like he would understand me most as a person, even before being a musician.  We kind of grew up, you know, doing the same kind of thing, living the same kind of life.  And he’s just a regular guy.  I consider myself to just be a regular old, you know, just a regular old guy and he seems like he had the most in common with me.  So that’s pretty much what it was.

 

Q) Pryor, what’s been the highlight of your journey on The Voice so far?

 

Pryor Baird: The highlight.  The delivery Krispy Kreme doughnuts were pretty cool.  No it’s for sure – in all seriousness, what it is, it’s to see the smile on my parents’ face and to see my family happy.  And I feel like I say this all the time but I speak for all of us, when all of us can say, “None of us would be here today if it weren’t for family being behind us for all these years and being, you know, the support and the years of music lessons and whatever it may be, you know, taking you to gigs.  I mean, my parents were taking me to gigs when I was 9 years old.  You can’t drive and they help you load your stuff in there.  And they did it until I could drive.  And my parents, they still come to every single gig and I’ve been doing this for literally almost 30 years. So to see the smile on my parent’s faces is the best part.

 

Q) What would you say to your friends and family in Orchid and to the whole Central Coast?

 

Pryor Baird:  Thank you.  Literally, thank you and I love you.  There’s nothing else to say.  Thank you and I love you, every single one.   I mean, there’s 12 foot billboards all over my town.  There’s ones in Santa Barbara all over Montecito, you know, where the floods were, and the fires, and there’s these giant billboards next to the – interstate sized billboards all over my home town and next to the freeway. And they’re in every single restaurant and bar and, you know, grocery store, and banks, who does that?   I mean, these people did this literally – I didn’t even know it was happening.  I had a friend of mine take a picture.  He’s like, “Do you know anything about this?”  And it was somebody putting up these giant billboards.  And so I Facetimed my friend.  I’m like who are these people?  I didn’t know who the lady was and then the other one was my high school water polo coach and they just took it upon themselves and now, they’ve started a committee and, I mean, it’s wild.  It’s amazing.

 

Q) Miya, what was going through your mind, like, just before and right after you found out that you’d been stolen by Alicia Keys?

 

Miya Bass:     Oh.  Just before, I felt like I was at the end of my road and I was very grateful for that opportunity.  And just after it was definitely a shocker for me and I was so appreciative just knowing that I’ll be able to continue in the competition.  And I was just grateful for Alicia.

 

Q) So what do you think, like, originally, obviously we all know you were training with Adam.  What do you think will be different between Adam’s style of coaching and Alicia’s?

 

Miya Bass:   I think the difference between their coaching style will be just the musicality because they come from two different genres.  So I think Alicia will be able to offer, you know, her style and some soul and R&B and – but I mean I’m pretty sure they will be similar overall in terms of their, you know, artistry because they’re both amazing.  But they have different styles.

 

Q) Very different but both very good.  The song that you battled with Drew Cole last night, great song, great choice, sounded really great for both of you.  Do you have any connection to that song?  How did you feel about that song choice?

 

Miya Bass:   Oh I loved the song choice actually.  I didn’t have any personal connections with it but I love any classic and that song is definitely a classic.  So I feel like I – myself am timeless in the sense of music.  So I do very well when it comes to timeless music and it’s just a great song.  And I connected to it on a soulful level, I should say, because I am a soulful singer.  And the way we arranged it, it fit very well with my style.

 

Q) Do you have, like, a favorite song that you’ve performed so far this season?

 

Miya Bass:   I think my favorite, you know what I think my favorite is Knocking on Heaven’s Door.  I really enjoyed singing that.

 

 

Q) One last thing before I let you go.  What is one thing that you learned from Adam Levine that you would take with you on your new team with Alicia Keys? 

 

Miya Bass:   I learned to definitely be myself no matter what song is selected for me or given to me.  Just to be myself whenever I’m performing, whether I’m by myself or with someone else.  I think that would be a great jewel to take with me to Team Alicia.

 

Q) Jaclyn, I was wondering what or who were you thinking about during your battle? 

 

Jaclyn Lovey:  I wasn’t thinking of a particular person.  I was really just enjoying the moment of the song.  Britton and I had been working on the song for so long and just hearing it come together the night of the battles, being up there, and just being in the moment, it was a really great experience.  And I was able to enjoy myself, and have fun. And we were kind of driving off each other’s energy of being in the song and it was overall a really fun experience.

 

Q) Shawn Mendes said that you could be a monster.  He was mentioning I think your power.  I was curious going forward, like, what can we expect from you?  Are you going to amp it up more in the knockouts? 

 

Jaclyn Lovey: Well I definitely want to keep bettering myself and growing and pushing myself further.  But at the same time I’m still going to be myself and I can’t really change who I am.  I’m just going to be growing and becoming better each time. So I definitely want to take his advice and grow more with that.

 

Q) That sounds great.  Did you feel like you were restraining at all or do you know why he made that comment?

 

Jaclyn Lovey:   I feel like I was just a little unfamiliar with the song at the time that we were with Shawn.  So I was still getting into it. Trying to figure out where my place was in the song.  And he heard that and he just gave me some really good advice.  And I took that and practiced a lot.  And I think we made it a lot better.

 

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*