The Voice – Blind Auditions Night 3

By starrymag | March 4, 2015

Q) Well we didn’t get to hear a lot of your story last night. Can you tell me a little bit about your connection with the family? The DeBarge name of course is pretty legendary in music business. Can you tell me a little bit of how you got to where you are and your connection?

Bren’nae DeBarge: I’m actually married to Andrew DeBarge who is the son of Tommy DeBarge. Yes. So I’m related by marriage.

Q) And have you been doing music all your life with the family? Or is this kind of your first foray out into music on your own?

Bren’nae DeBarge: I’ve been doing music all my life and just recently started with the family, maybe about four or five years ago.

Q) And why was The Voice important for you to do?

Bren’nae DeBarge: Actually I just wanted to really get out there. I thought it was really just time to really put myself out there. So I just figured I’d give it a chance. And just going to see where it takes me.

Q) as this process goes on, what is advice that you’ve gotten and that you’ve learned about yourself in the process?

James McNeiece: I think the biggest advice that I got was I guess just to kind of make sure that you’re being yourself, and make sure that you’re kind of just being as comfortable as you can be on stage. There’s only a short amount of time on this show. And it is a huge platform. So you want to try and make sure that you are taking full advantage of it. Not letting nerves get a hold of you and that kind of stuff. And just making sure that you are – not to repeat myself – but just taking advantage of the opportunity that’s placed in front of you in such a large capacity, being able to sing for so many people. You just want to really put your best self out there.

India Carney: One thing I took away from the experience so far has been to always push yourself musically. Because you never know what you’re capable of until you do. And you could be really surprised with the outcome. And it’s usually a really great outcome.

Barry Minniefield: I agree with India. And what I’ve taken from this, I mean, being 53 years old – that you’re never too old to keep learning in this process, and to get the best of what you can be. I mean, that’s what I got from it. And I’m still growing as a musician, as a singer, as an entertainer. And to be in the presence of these superstars is just incredible.

Q) Nicolette, we didn’t really get to hear much of your story last night. I was hoping each of you could tell us what you’ve done in music to this point and what lead you to The Voice?

Nicolette Mare: I’ve been singing since I’m about eight years old. I’ve been writing. My grandfather actually got me started with music. He really pushed me to pursue it. I went to LaGuardia to singing school. I was there for like four months in high school. And that really gave me a real outlook on the musician that I wanted to be. I didn’t stick it out because it was just a lot different than what I was used to. I wish I would have done it. But The Voice has been an amazing experience. And it really, really showed me who I want to be as an artist, what kind of music I want to pursue. And it really taught me that you have to believe in yourself. And you just have to be confident. And yes, I mean, I do music everyday.

Q) And what types of music do you normally perform?

Nicolette Mare: I would say like singer/songwriter stuff, indie pop. I think I have a little bit of country influence in my voice. So more like country pop.

Q) Kelsie, seeing that you’re originally from West Virginia and now a resident of Louisa, Kentucky – having that Interstate 64, I-77 corridor covered there with Kentucky and West Virginia – I guess you could be considered what Cody Wickline considered you this morning as when we interviewed him, as a hillbilly. Is that correct?

Kelsie May: I would definitely refer to myself as a hillbilly. I really love – I’m like a normal teenager. Like I love to go mud-gogging. That’s just what I do. I like to be outside with animals. I’m just an outdoors kind of girl. And I just don’t see myself ever changing from that.

Q) Is that what gives you your country background, is that hillbilly? I mean, is that what you want to be like? Loretta Lynn, your idol?

Kelsie May: I definitely want to be like Loretta Lynn. Because I love how even though she’s a superstar, like she’s never changed. She’s always been herself. And she always stands for something, no matter if anyone agrees with her or not. And I just love that about her. I think that she is amazing in every aspect – as an artist, as a songwriter, as a musician, as a person. I just love everything she stands for. And I definitely draw inspiration from her.

Q) Barry, how does it actually feel when you are walking onto the stage and you start to sing and like the time is running out and a chair hasn’t turned. Does it feel like sudden death?

Barry Minniefield: Adam actually turned his chair like a half a second before it was over. So I was just going nuts. I mean, I don’t get – because I’m older and I’ve been doing this for a long time – but I was pretty nervous about that.

Matt Snook: I wasn’t nervous when I heard the crowd. I got anxious to be on stage. But then when I got about halfway through my song, I was kind of expecting maybe a chair to turn. And when I did not receive that, I was very nervous on the inside. Like all my musical failures flashed in front of me like in two or three seconds. So I was nervous when I watched it back on TV. I was afraid of what it might look like. But then when I got about halfway through my song, I was kind of expecting maybe a chair to turn. And when I did not receive that, I was very nervous on the inside. Like all my musical failures flashed in front of me like in two or three seconds. So I was nervous when I watched it back on TV. I was afraid of what it might look like. And I guess the bottom line for me is that a little voice kind of popped in my head and said you just need to finish strong and do the right thing. And I did that and got lucky enough that Blake turned at the very last second. So I heard the crowd…

Q) Barry, you’ve been a successful chef for a long time now here. What made you want to go onto The Voice? And are you looking to change careers from cooking and going into music full-time?

Barry Minniefield: Oh yes. What made me change, you know, I was a chef at the Improve for many years. And to pacify me – we were one of the first places to do karaoke. So I came out of the kitchen and I’d go into the dining room. We’d start singing and having fun. So it was hard to keep me out of singing. I mean, that’s where it kind of all started for me. I mean, I got on The Voice just because I love the show. And I love it for the fact that it’s just voice. They don’t see who you are and see how old you are. They can’t see anything. But they just hear your voice. And that’s what I love. And I’ve always wanted to, you know, to sing. To be an entertainer. And yes, and I do want to do more music. I want music to be my career. As far as the cooking thing – I’ll cook a little bit. Like I cook for some of the guys and the girls – my children. I call them my children. But this is for The Voice. You know? I was cooking in my room for everybody.

Q) Well tell me a little bit about what your influence is. What did you grow up listening to?

Michael Leier: Honestly, I grew up on Shania Twain and John Mellencamp. And for some reason over the years it kind of went through Green Day when I was about 12. And I would say John Mayer and Rihanna and Sara Bareilles is where I’m at now. So it’s been quite the drastic change in my taste, I would say.

Q) Did you know that you always wanted to do music though?

Michael Leier: I had been singing, I guess, for fun as much as any kid does about until the time I was a teenager. And I really wanted to play guitar. And there’s really no musical influence in my family. I’ve got pretty much the only musical bone in my body out of the five that live in my house. But I don’t know. I think my parents thought that it was just going to be another toy that I wanted when I asked them if I could play guitar. And so we borrowed one. And eventually I ended up playing in a band and making money during high school. And I guess it got me all the way here. So somewhere along the line, I decided that I must be a little bit good at what I’m doing. And I really love it at the same time.

Q) There was no plan B? I mean, you weren’t going to be a doctor or a fireman or an engineer?

Michael Leier: I did go to college for one year. I went locally in Fargo and did a year at pre-med over at community college. And second semester, I went out to Chicago to go try out for the show. And I don’t know, I kind of shook my head at the whole college thing. I wasn’t really having it.

Q) Travis, you had one of the three chair turns. And you went with Pharrell. Why Pharrell? That was kind of surprising for some reason.

Travis Ewing: Looking back and re-watching the episode last night, Christina pitched it pretty hard. I think we had a roar. I think we had a pretty serious connection too. I mean, she was the first to turn. And she kind of made my performance a lot easier for me because she kind of turned within ten seconds. And so the rest of it was just kind of a blur, because I knew that I was already on the show. But I think going into the blind audition, I had the idea that I would probably go with Pharrell if he turned with me. Just because right now – and even throughout my career as a musician – I never really thought of myself as a true singer. I think of myself more as a musician. And I think right now at the point that I’m at, I think I needed more direction than anything in terms of my music. And I thought that a producer like Pharrell would have a bigger impact on me in the long run. Ed Sheeran is one of my favorite musicians right now and one of my big influences with the whole loop pedal thing. So yes, I mean, know that – that definitely helped my decision a little bit.

Q) Kesie, I was just wanting to know what influenced your decision to choose Blake?

Kelsie May: To be honest, I know it’s probably going to surprise a lot of people, but I was actually kind of getting swayed by Pharrell and Christina in the moment. Before I stepped out on stage, I thought if I got Blake to turn around for me I definitely was going to go with him, because I mean, we both have the country vein going on. And I think that he definitely could help me pave my way through country music. And I did ultimately choose him for that reason. I think that he also helps people after the show. And I also look up to him as a person, just because he is this superstar and he has never changed. He’s so genuine. What you see is what you get. So that’s ultimately why I chose him.

Q) Barry, I was wondering who your greatest musical influences are?

Barry Minniefield: Luther Vandross is one of my favorites. Frank Sinatra. Ella Fitzgerald. Just all those old crooners from, you know, back in the day are all my influences.

Q) Matt, your moment last night was sort of quick. So I was wondering if you could kind of explain more about what brought you to The Voice and the job you gave up. And then how your wife feels?

Matt Snook: I’ll just say what brought me to The Voice was – I went to an open audition one year and didn’t get past the first level. And then the next year I think I submitted a voice video. They got some traffic. And then somebody posted something on a casting page. And I actually – it was another site by NBC. So I went out to audition. And just really enjoyed from the very beginning the casting process, casting all the way through the different steps. I’ve sang music my whole life. And I used to work as a project manager for Sprint. It’s called a PMP – project manager professional. I worked there about 11 years. But I sang all the way through that time. And I would make trips to Nashville and writing and recording and all those kinds of things. I was driving my oldest son, Austin, to football practice one day. And he asked me if we were going to move to Nashville. And I said why do you ask? And he said – well, because you’re not getting any younger. And so we had a serious conversation at the dinner table. And we just decided we were going to move.  But I thought – you know what? Now might be the time. So I took a voluntary separation. I had six months to figure out how to make a living playing music full-time. And it was about a year later I was heading overseas to Iraq to play for the troops. So basically, I mean, I’ve always been a musician. I’ve always sang. I just was able to with the support of my wife and family – I was able to actually quit my job as a breadwinner and just take a lot of risk and go start playing music full-time. So it takes a million people on a team to make things happen. And I definitely have a great score base in my camp. And I’m just very blessed and thankful with The Voice and Team Blake. And it’s giving me this opportunity, you know, to kind of share my story and be on Team Blake.

Q) Kelsie, we saw that you were tweeted by Crystal Gayle. Can you talk to us about why you chose Loretta Lynn’s song and what it means to you to be on social media now with her sister?

Kelsie May: Oh my gosh. I knew from the get-go that I wanted to do a Loretta song. Because she’s been a huge influence to me since before I can even remember. She’s from my area, so a lot of people know her around here. And she has definitely been an influence in music as far as female artists go. So I definitely knew I wanted to do her song. Because she is amazing, I feel like, in every aspect. I love what she stands for. I love the way that she takes – she just, I don’t know. I just love the way that she is so true to everything as far as like her songwriting goes, what she says, how she connects with people. And I love that song “You’re Looking at Country.” And I just want people to know that I know who I am as a person and as an artist. So it was really, really important to me that I got to do that song.

Q) And how is it sharing tweets with Crystal Gayle?

Kelsie May: Oh my gosh. I woke up this morning and, you know, of course I checked my phone. And when I seen that she tweeted me, I cannot tell you how hard I cried. That was a dream come true. I love, love, love Crystal Gayle. And I cannot believe that – I still can’t believe that she tweeted me. I literally feel like I’m in a dream right now.

Q) You’re 15. So you’re one of the youngest competitors on The Voice, I believe. How do you think that your age will play into how you compete and how far you’ll go? And also just on a personal level, kind of staying grounded when you’re instantly becoming famous.

Kelsie May: I’m very focused on my music, I feel like. I’ve always been, since I first decided that this is something I really, really seriously wanted to pursue. And I know I’m really young. And I see that people probably think that that’s like a setback. But I want to let people know that no matter how young you are, you should definitely follow your dream whole-heartedly if that’s something that you really believe in. I just think that this has been an amazing experience. No matter how old or young you are, I think that you can do it if you really set your heart to it.

Q) What advice do you have for other people that are your age looking up to you right now?

Kelsie May: I would just say to follow your dream. I mean, of course there’s going to be people saying that like you can’t do it. But if you believe in yourself enough, you can accomplish anything. And I believe that whole-heartedly.

Q) Sonic, we heard a lot about what you did early in your musical career – how you were signed. I was wondering if you could fill us in a little bit on what you’ve been doing more recently. And what led you to The Voice?

Sonic: Yes. I have been in a collective (cultural group) for the past couple of years. So that consists of three other musicians that I work with singing, sessioning, all that. So we’ve just kind of been like writing a lot and creating some networking. Haven’t really set out a lot of music. So I’ve been doing that ever since like being signed kind of fell apart early on. And I was kind of going back from California to New York living-wise. And I went out there last July – I’m sorry, June. And there was open call in Washington, D.C. And I just decided to give it a shot and try a second chance at my solo career. And it ended up working out more than I anticipated.

Q) And what type of music do you normally do?

Sonic: R&B soul.

Q) Kimberly, why did you decide to sing the song you sang?

Kimberly Nichole: Probably because Tina Turner is one of my biggest influences. And I love that song. It’s one of my favorites by her and Ike. So I thought it was good up-tempo fun. And I wanted to challenge myself a bit vocally. And I felt it did that as well.

Q) Was there a second choice, can you talk about? Was there something else you thought about maybe to do instead?

Kimberly Nichole: I think I have a lot of songs in my mind that I want to do. I think that was my number one choice.

Q) Jacob, why did you decide to sing the song you sang?

Jacob Rummell: I chose that song because for me I love Bruno Mars. He’s really great. And he’s one of my huge influences. And that song specifically is just simple and so easy and fun that I think that was a good first song for me.

Q) Clinton, why did you decide to sing the song you sang?

Clinton Washington: So “Candle in the Wind” by Elton has been something that I’ve been singing for quite some time on my circuit in New York City as a singer/songwriter. And it’s actually – it was dramatic and all those different things that I felt like people would be able to connect with emotionally. But also give me a lot of room for melody shifts and doing something with the arrangement that would allow me to show a little bit more of my range and expressiveness outside of what Elton had done.

Q) How did you decide to go on The Voice rather than auditioning for another show like American Idol?

Barry Minniefield: Like I said earlier, you know, The Voice is about the voice. In a show like American Idol, you’re limited on how old you can even be to even audition on that show. So, I mean, The Voice is just a great concept. I just love that it’s all about the voice and it’s not about anything else.

Kimberly Nichole: I think that The Voice is very unique in that your coaches are actual music stars. They’re not people that are behind the scenes. And then you also have these advisors that are legendary or on the top, on the charts as well. And in addition to that, you know, it’s almost like industry boot camp. You have wardrobe. You have vocal rehearsals. You’re actually – our music director’s one of the greatest music directors in music. So I think to me it’s just like the best singing competition on the air, period. Just because of the different elements. You get to be mentored by Blake, Christina Aguilera, Adam Levine, or Pharrell? Like come on, no other show’s doing that. And this is Kimberly Nichole talking. So that’s why I really – that’s the reason I decided to do it. One of the reasons, rather.

James McNeiece: Yes, I agree with Kimberly. I think the biggest selling point for me was the fact that you’re really not getting judged by the coaches. They really don’t even like to be called judges. Instead, you’re getting somebody to turn around who actually is going to work with you on what you’re doing. They’re not turning around and they give you pointers and that kind of stuff – but then they work with you. It’s not like every week you go up there and they just only judge what you’re doing. You get one-on-one work with these amazing artists that have been in the industry for so long. So yes, I think that was the biggest selling point for me.

Matt Snook: I’d like to add that a lot of the shows that are on TV now, reality-type talent shows, The Voice – their primary goal is to put people in a good light and share their creative talents with the world in a positive way. That is the primary reason why I was interested in pursuing that.

Q) India, much like Travis, you had several chairs turned for you. Why was Christina the one you absolutely wanted to go with? I mean, was she your first choice in the beginning or were you swaying back and forth?

India Carney: I went with my gut on that one. Honestly, going in, Adam was always my first choice going into it. But, you know, Christina turned first. And she seemed to be fighting the most for me and saying the right things to make me want to be on her team. And so, you know, the closer it came to the time to decide, I kind of just went with my gut. And like I said, she’s someone who I’ve admired for like my whole life. And, I mean, if I hadn’t gone with her that would have been a really big opportunity that I should have taken. So I just kind of went with my gut on that, really.

Q) No matter how far you get on The Voice, has this pushed you even further to want to have a career in music, regardless of how far you get in the competition?

Matt Snook: I’ll just say that I went into the process not afraid to succeed or fail. And however long I’m a part of this process, I’ll be thankful and grateful. I see myself as a full-time musician. And it won’t change any thoughts that I have about pursuing music full-time. Because I’ve met too many cool people along the way.

Barry Minniefield: I agree with Matt on that one. But my phone is going crazy. I don’t know how to turn this stuff off.

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*