The Voice – Blind Auditions

By starrymag | September 25, 2015

Q) Blind Joe and for Evan, I’m wondering what the past 24 hours has been like for you guys in light of the show and how well you did?

Blind Joe: It’s been absolutely crazy. I mean, as the, yes, social media has been blowing up and the outpouring of the section from the stands is just – it’s incredible, you know? It brought me to tears last night as reading everybody’s posts and tweets and it’s been just – it’s mind-blowing to have been doing this for so long. I’ve been doing this for, gosh, over ten years now playing the bars and what not and to finally really make it and accomplish a four chair turn and now being on Team Blake. Blake’s been one of my hero’s for a long, long time and it’s an incredible feeling.

Evan: It’s been really, really amazing. It’s been a complete whirlwind. It’s amazing for me to see the support from so many different places I’ve been in my life. I like support coaches, Bible study leaders, fuel from my Church, people from everywhere I’ve ever been like all kind of converging into my world again at one time to support me and lift me up in this process which is really, really amazing and just to see the way that God is working and getting in this process has been truly, truly incredible — and it’s amazing watching it air on TV. Since we’ve already done the auditions ahead of time we’re getting to kind of relive as if we are just doing it again and even get the notice things that we couldn’t notice the actual day of performance because we were so on Cloud 9 during the performance. It’s almost like getting to re-clarify and like get to relive it again. It’s super magical, right?

Q) I’d like to hear from the three singers we really didn’t get to meet last night. That would be Hanna, Noah, and Evan. I was hoping each of you could fill us in on your musical background. Tell us how you’re blind audition went.

Hanna: I was kind of bummed that they didn’t show it only because my family and friends were super looking forward to it but to be honest I wasn’t 100% happy with my audition. It was a ton of pressure but I still did the best that I could.

Q) What’s your musical background?

Hanna: I’m a singer/songwriter in Chicago. I play guitar and I guess its more Indy folk pop.

Noah: I guess in regard to being montaged I, like Hanna, was disappointed because all of my friends from home were watching and a lot of my friends across the Country were trying to see me and everybody else that I’ve been talking up all this time but overall I did find with my audition it was – I got a lot of good feedback from the coaches and aside from the slight disappointment of that I’m just excited to see the next few episodes come on — see everybody in and then, you know, see the next few rounds.

Q) What’s your musical background?

Noah: I’m a singer and an artist. I, yes, I’m a singer/songwriter and I do, I guess, R&B, Soul, Hip Hop, and a little bit of Jazz because I go to Jazz school.

Q) Did you have a choice of coaches or was Gwen the only one who turned around?

Noah: Gwen was the only one.

Tim: Like Hanna and Noah it’s disappointing to be montaged, obviously, but it was also amazing to see how much support I could get from 15 seconds on television. I mean, it was just awesome. My audition went well. I thought I performed well. Gwen pressed her button at the first line and, yes, I was really happy with it.

Q) What’s your musical background?

Tim: I am a singer/songwriter and recording engineer from San Jose, California and I’ve been playing music for the majority of my life and, yes.

Q) Zach, it seemed like the judges were quite taken by your voice as well as by how you look. Do you get that a lot in terms of people thinking you’re older than you are?

Zach: Yes, especially in High School. A lot of people think I get held back a lot. But some people have mistaken me for my age and me being too young and then with it being a blind audition early on the show the deeper tone that I have with my voice and sort of like the older side that I have of my voice — so, yes, it was really interesting to see what the coaches thought and filming my blind audition prior to it was so surreal so I really didn’t remember much and then I got to sit down yesterday to watch it and was actually my birthday — so it was a great birthday present and I got to sit back to see what all the coaches had to say and it was really exciting.

Q) Why did you pick Blake?

Zach: In the moment I was about to get with the three coaches that turned around. I really was thinking on going with Adam but Blake but Blake said it. He’s a Country singer. He knows the words that he can take and hopefully lead me to greater success past this show and also Pharrell was also a great person and I really wanted to go with him because of his last year he obviously won the show but Blake won me over just because his Country background and his Country roots.

Q) Evan, I think I watch The Voice all the time and the only one I believe that’s ever been asked to sing a second song right there on the spot and Pharrell kind of picked up Stevie Wonder. Were you prepared to sing a second song and how did you do that so easily?

Evan: Absolutely not. It was just completely out of the blue and completely by surprise but I was honestly really excited that he asked me to sing it again because even though like I already knew my blind audition song and loved my blind audition song so much and I was afraid that it was going to pen me into just one sting when I want to explore a lot of different genres so I was really excited that he asked me to sing “Overjoyed” because it gave me a chance to show a little bit different side of what I do which is something I really care about it. It’s doing a lot of different genre. I grew up doing musicals and so much like acting stuff with my Church. That kind of prepares for improvisionalization (sic) situations so you kind of are always having to be on your toes whenever your stage. It’s kind of how – what I grew up learning. You kind of be ready for whatever gets thrown at you. It’s funny. I hadn’t – without knowing at all that any, you know, second performance or anything like that was going to be coming I had just been singing “Overjoyed” like on set and around everywhere for like a couple months just because it had been like super stuck in my head. So it’s funny this kind of coincidence. It’s almost like Don put that song in my head to prepare me for that moment coming later.

Q) James, before you auditioned you kind of thought that was hoping Blake would be your coach and then you turned all four chairs and you changed your mind and you picked Adam. What made you change your mind in choosing Adam?

James: I have a passion for Country music and obviously I consider myself a Country music singer but I also told myself before going out on the stage, “If I do get more than one chair I wanted to really live in that moment and listen to what each coach had to say and just make my decision at that time,” and I really – a lot of what every folks had to say but I thought that being that Adam had made a good point about Blake having a lot of Country singers on his team already and I’ve always been kind of the guy who wanted to do – wanted to kind of be outside of the box a little bit and that’s how I approach a lot of things decision wise — so I thought Adam made a good point and I also think that he can show me a lot of things that I don’t do in the Country world, you know? So, I’m really happy with the decision.

Q) Ellie, before your audition you were talking about your family and how talented your brother is — when you turned three chairs last night was that like a feeling of validation? How did you feel at that moment?

Ellie: Oh, my lord. Well, I forget a lot because it really was not – like if he didn’t assume it was like a down full, but it was so overwhelming to finally have somebody recognize me like in my voice because I love my brother. He’s so talented, he’s taught me so much, but living in such a small town I was always known as his sister and so now like getting that moment, well, like, “Oh, you’re Ellie’s brother,” I’m like, “Yes, the tables have turned and I’m finally getting my own like spotlight,” and it feels so amazing.

Q) Blind Joe, how did you feel since you couldn’t tell who had turned around until, I think, it was Adam told you that – how many chairs turned around for you?”

Blind Joe: Yes, it was Blake actually. I was nervous throughout the entire thing. I’m a very nervous person and I don’t handle competition well at all — so through the entire song I was very nervous — and I got to the end and I thought – I just remembered thinking, “Man, I hope I turned at least one,” and when Blake said, “Man, you just got a four chair turn,” It just – it blew my mind. It was incredible. I mean, just a feeling of accomplishment, I think, more than anything else.

Q) How did you choose which song to sing for your blind audition?

Blind Joe: If It Hadn’t Been for Love” has been one of my favorite songs ever since I heard it back in 2008, 2009 — of course, written by Chris Stapleton who is a phenomenal singer/songwriter — and that’s how I picked it, you know? It’s just a favorite of mine and something that I love to sing.

Q) How does it feel now to have moved to where you wanted to go as a singer? I mean, you’ve done greater radio, but now you’ve moved to the next level. I mean, is there something you had imagined or fortunately was wanted. What does it feel like to you?

Regina: It’s, let me tell you, I cannot begin to tell you how I feel right now. I was just tweeting because I’ve got a keep up with the sweet, man, all of this social media stuff, you know? It’s amazing. It’s like a dream long awaited because I’ve helped and I’ve always been the type of person to like to help everybody’s dreams come true. And now to finally see mine actually evolve before my eyes it was unbelievable. The words cannot express it. I can’t even begin – I’m still like on a high that I’m not coming down right now.

Q) Now you’ve only had a little bit of time to work with Adam so far. What have you learned from him in such a short time that that maybe talk to you?

Regina: First of all, I’ve learned to always be and give everything that you can whenever in your performance and your performance is like it’s – whatever you feel in your heart put all of your heart and soul in everything that you do.

Q) James, since we’re talking about Adam that was an incredibly bold choice and a smart choice, I would think, strategically as he mentioned. Did sometimes what you went through musically in terms of being – going to Nashville and going to that label thing, did that kind of have any influence on your decision as well — maybe subconsciously?

James: That’s a good question — and I think that probably – it probably did, you know? I’ve been trying to figure out myself in the Country music world for the past five years or so that I’ve been in Nashville and I’ve always had a lot of ups and downs and I thought that since I had the opportunity to fill a different direction right here and on National Television I figured it would be the best opportunity to try to think a little differently about my approach to Country music and maybe add a little bit of different flair to it, you know? I mean I did do a Hootie and The Blowfish song. I’ll always be a Country singer but I’m trying to think a little bit differently about it, I guess.

Q) Well are you thinking maybe a little bit more Rock? A little more Soul? A little more Rap? Or, just the amount of all that stuff with Country?

James: You never know. I mean, there’s a lot of different – Country music has a lot of different sides to it and especially in the modern Country — so it’s exciting and I’m just excited to see what comes next.

Regina: I just wanted to say this. Also he definitely just really assured me that your gift does not have an age limit on. And it was a crime that it took this long for the world to experience it but never, ever think that age has anything to do with any gifting that anyone has in this world. Now when it’s your time, it’s your time. it happens, when it happens. But just enjoy the moment and do it.

Q) For Blind Joe, was there any thought about calling yourself Blind Joe instead of Joe?

Blind Joe: Blind Joe’s” what I’ve been called all my life, you know, ever since I was a kid. There’s so many people named “Joe” that that was how people, you know, distinguished between, “Joe who?” Oh, “Blind Joe,” so, I mean, it’s just who I am.

Q) Blind Joe, knowing that you’re doing this to support your wife and wanting to build a family, your wife has got to be your biggest fan. What was her reaction to all of this happening for you?

Blind Joe: She went from being so nervous. She was about to throw up to just being ecstatic. I mean, she was just jumping up and down and, you know, gave me a huge hug and she’s been with me, supporting me through this for so long and we’ve hit the road so hard and tried so hard to do this and I think it was just so much relief for her that everything happened the way it did and she’s so proud.

Q) They gave you such a hard sell last night. I mean, are there any second thoughts of, “Well, maybe I should’ve have gone with Adam?”

Blind Joe: It was such a hard decision because Adam is such a cool dude but Blake really got me with the whole running of that thing and I think he knew that and like I said I think I said last night, Blake’s been a hero of mine for years and the possibility to be coached by him was just too much of an awesome opportunity for me to pass up.

Q) Ellie, I have to ask, “Where that band name ‘One Shot Ellie’ came from?”

Ellie: I quit my job to be music fulltime two years ago and I went from making, you know, $60,000 a year to digging all the way for a $100 and I told myself – I give myself one shot to do it and I gave myself a timeline of like three months and if I hadn’t gained any ground, then I was going to go back to work in retail and so kind of “One Shot Ellie” just kind of stuck because the people at the bar started calling me that because I just didn’t like go up there and then, “Hi, my name’s Ellie. I’m going to play this song,” so it’s kind of stuck because I really only had one opportunity to really make a name for myself. Coming from such a small town like it’s so hard to get noticed outside of this town so it’s just kind of geared from that.

Q) And talk about your blind audition song choice which is doing very well on iTunes, by the way

Ellie: I’m going crazy about that. Like, I can’t even deal right now. I’m – I love that song — the Ella Eyre version for a long time. Ella is a huge inspiration on me. Like I love her music. I love her style. And I’ve been covering that song for quite some time and it just seemed kind of fitting because I love kind of like sad and depressing music and I like to make people cry when I sing and that was like the song where I felt like I could start in the depths and the range and give them some emotion and it – I cannot be happier with how it’s doing on iTunes so it’s like I am thrilled with it.

Q) Evan, what is your Church that you’re referring to and why did you choose ‘Team Pharrell’?

Evan: I grew up at West End Assembly of God on the West End of Richmond and I started going there when I was probably one or two years old and that’s really where my love for music and my gift in music were nurtured and grown.  I was in a kid’s choir when I was little and then I could joined by youth choir in Middle School and High School and I we sang Gospel music and Rock music and a little bit of everything. I also trained to lead Worship starting in Middle School and I have been leading Worship — I still lead Worship — at West End usually about once a week when I’m home. So that’s really been my home for most of my life, you know? I’ve spent more nights and days in that Church than I have in any other building in my life, so it’s a huge part of my story and it’s a huge part of my home and it had a huge place in my heart. As far as picking Pharrell, I changed my mind about five or six different times in the process leading up to my audition in terms of who I wanted to be my Coach if I had the choice and I probably changed it about five or six more times when I was up on stage because I had decided a few weeks before my audition if I got Blake to turn around I wanted Blake so Blake turned around first and I was like, “Oh shoot, it’s over. I’m going to pick him.” But then I was fortunate to get a couple of other options and Gwen was – said a lot of the things I wanted to hear about, “Give me a chance to show me some diversity and do some different things.” But when it came down to it Pharrell not just telling me he would give me an opportunity for diversity and chances to shake things up but he just right then gave me a chance to show a different side of my voice and a different side of my music and I knew that anyone that was willing to challenge me and put me on the spot and give me a chance to prove myself was someone that approached music the why I did and understood what I wanted to do as an artist and so soon as he asked me to do that I was pretty sure that that’s who I wanted to be my Coach was someone that’s deemed to understand me that way.

Q) Emily, you seem to me when you came in that you were thinking, “Blake, Blake, Blake” and then Adam kind of had you may be changed your mind and then you picked Blake in the end — so, what was that like? What were you thinking?

Emily: Well, yes, going into it I was definitely thinking that I would pick Blake and the Adam’s here like gave Blake a run for his money. Like I almost picked Adam and like standing there and trying to decide they thought for a while, like, it was back and forth and I was like – I was so torn because I knew that like everything that Adam was saying was true because Blake would have a lot of Country artists but I think that I knew that I would – I could relate with Blake more and that he would understand me and my style of music more than maybe Adam would so I ended up picking Blake but, yes, I almost picked Adam, yes.

Q) How do you think of the song you want to sing because that’s a song we’ve heard a lot in auditions and I really, really love your version?

Emily: Well, thank you. It was really fun to sing and I think that that song has such a special meaning and the words are really beautiful so I was singing music that has a ton of meaning and that really touches people so I really loved that song and I knew that it had been done a lot but I try to add my little spin on whatever I do so I just really like the song.

Q) Evan, I wanted to find out from you with Pharrell what is that you – because I know that you said and I know that you performed with the West End Assembly of God for years and I know that you said that you had learned some things from doing that so what is it that you want to learn from Pharrell and also did it make any difference with you when you were thinking about your choices that he is also from Virginia?

Evan: There’s so much I want to learn from him. He’s someone that’s incorporated so many different genres into his music and he’s tried so many different things and he’s a part of producing music and arranging music and writing music and I really love to produce music and write music and arrange on top of just performing and to me he is the Number One artist I think of as someone that does all of those things and is not just a performer but a creator, an innovator when it comes to music. And I want to learn how he’s had success doing that because it’s hard sometimes in music when you don’t have a clear niche or a clear kind of music you cannot de-identify with you can move people if you shake things up too often and – but that’s something I really want to do with my music is try a lot of different things and do some Country, some Rock, and Hip Hop — and so a little bit of everything. I so respect that he’s done that so well and with so much success and hasn’t lost anybody that every time he changes gears he gets somebody else he gets somebody else to fall in love with his music that way so that’s really what I want to learn from him is just finding the right balance of adding a lot of colors to your music but not so much that it “turns brown.” As far as him being from Virginia he actually – I don’t think it was on the airing but when I was up there he actually talked to me about being from Virginia and what the music scene is like there. Just talking about how there’s a lot of Soul and Hip Hop over in Virginia where we’re from and how that’s influenced me so much. And just like talking about that for a minute and hearing how he understands where I come from and what the music is like where I come from, what the culture is like I think that definitely added to the connection that I was already having with him on a musical standpoint. I was like, “Oh, yes, he’s from VA. He gets me. He definitely knows where I’m coming from.” I would definitely say, “That definitely – it wasn’t the Number One reason I picked him, but it definitely boosted the other reasons I was thinking about picking him and kind of sent it over the edge.”

Q) What is it because you had mentioned in the first question that I had asked that you’d learned to kind of be kind of spontaneous and can do impromptu because all of the shows that West End and somebody brought. What else do you feel like you’ve learned from that experience there? Because I know you did a lot of the Christmas musicals?

Evan: Yes, I was in “Glorious Christmas Nights.” It’s a three-month process and you’re giving up a quarter of your year every year to do that so think about, you know, over 17 or 18 years, three months a year, that’s a lot of time doing – getting chances to be exposed to stage performance and a lot of different situations. There was one time when I was 7 or 8 and I was performing. I was being a “Little Elvis” and I was out on the stage. I was the only one on the stage for this part of the show with a spotlight on me and I was going to be literally singing to an Elvis song because it was going to be funny because I was like little and it was supposed to sound like Elvis but the track didn’t start for like a minute and the reason like moments like that put you on the spot where it’s something you’re not prepared for or like part of your wardrobe coming off and you just have to kind of make it work. Little things like that in the show really, really help you to be kind of prepared for anything and not just prepared for anything but to know what to happen – to know what to do when something unexpected happens. And (Bob Laughlin) and (Kathy Krattick) and all my directors of those shows really train us and help us to be prepared for things that are unseen. That’s part of stage performance and stage acting. It’s especially part of theater, but I think it translates to any stage performance and any kind of performance at all. Something can always come out of left field and surprise you and you have to be quick on your feet and able to react and “the show must always go on.”

Q) Evan, how would you describe yourself as a singer?

Evan: As a singer I tried really hard to sing with a lot of emotions and I try with whatever song I’m singing to sing it as if I wrote it and then, you know, I try to connect with the meaning and the story behind about it as much as possible so I would say that for the most part I am an emotional singer and I think that emotion is an important aspect in singing. I would also say that my voice has a lot of different sides to it because I’ve grown up with so many different kinds of music so I mean I even have Country music that I love to do, I love Hip Hop, and Rap, and Old Soul, and Rock-n-Roll, current Rock, and Modern Pop and a lot of different things so everyone has always told me that I have a very raspy voice. I’m not sure exactly why that it is but I’ve always had a voice that had kind of a raspy kind of grungy like sound on it which makes it interesting. If I’m singing a kind of music that doesn’t normally have that tone it makes it kind of unique — so, yes. People are usually surprised to hear since my voice is really raspy like that that I have a higher range than my voice sounds like it’s going to so I guess I – if I had to say one more to describe my voice I think I would just say, “I appreciate it that it’s versatile and I can do a lot of different kinds of things with it.”

Q) Ivonne, I’d like you to be a little bit more detailed about what you did between the two blind auditions — the Season 8 and the Season 9 blind auditions — and why you thought it turned out differently this time?

Ivonne: I started working there last, yes, last summer. It was just a way for me to raise some money because I was getting ready to go back to school and everything and it was just the closest and, I mean, the only place where I can work at because I come from such a small town there’s literally nothing there for me to do — so that was kind of the only thing I could do and having both my parents working there kind of made it easier to just like get a job from one day to another, so, yes.

Q) Can you be a little bit more detailed about what you did between Season 8 and Season 9 that prepared you better and why did you think it turned out differently this time?

Ivonne: Well, actually I’ve seen a, I mean, like I mentioned in my audition it was very hard coming home because, you know, I just – like I felt like I was so close to like achieving and then and like in one split second it was just like denied and taken away from me so it really, really hurt but it also really encouraged me to go home and do some work and just really focus on myself and my music. So once I got home I started looking for more gigs, I started like my music teacher offered to give me some vocal lessons, and I just – I did as much as I could to just gain more experience on stage and just feeling more confident. But, I mean, I definitely feel like after not going through last season was the best thing that has ever happened to me because it’s just helped me grow so much as an artist and as a person.

 

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*