The Voice – Blind Auditions Night 6

By starrymag | October 15, 2018

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) For Funsho, what was it like when Adam Levine called you one of the best vocalists to ever be on the show?

 

Funsho:   That was the best compliment I could receive from the best person who could give it because, you know, his opinion matters a lot as far as how he thinks of me as an artist and how much he values my talent.  So hearing him say that was really reassuring especially considering the fact that I grew up listening to his music a lot.  So I look at him as an inspiration as an artist.  So it was really cool to hear him say that in person.

 

Q) Lela, I was wondering if you could tell us what led you to The Voice and why you decided to do the show at such a young age?

 

Lela:  Because this is a dream I’ve always wanted and I’m always doing this – I’m singing and dancing.  I’m always practicing.  So I’m very used to striving for what I want and then once I saw that The Voice was coming I just thought I have to do this.  I don’t lose anything from this.  I just wanted to try and see how it goes.  And then thank God everything went great and now I’m on Team JHud.

 

Q) And how did Lela become the stage name you used for the show?

 

Lela:   Because – okay my actual name, my name is (Pamela Restrepo).  And at first I was like, nobody’s going to remember this name because my last name is so complicated and people will make fun of me and all that.  And my whole life since I was a baby my whole family would call me Lela because when I was a baby I didn’t know how to pronounce my name.  So I would just say Lela.  And ever since that everybody calls me Lela.  And I think it’s simple, it’s cute and it’s just who I am.

 

Q) For Funsho,  Adam, Kelly and Jennifer all turned around for you.  It was clear to me Adam was the most complimentary of you and fought hardest to win you.  But going into your audition did you have a different coach in mind whom you would have liked to work with and maybe Adam simply won you over from that?

 

Funsho:    Going into my audition I intended on picking Adam.  Like I said I’ve always been a fan of Adam and Maroon 5.  And I just appreciate his artistry and what he’s done on the show, you know, his tenure, being there since Season 1, like, I just felt he would be the best person to work with on the show because he knows the ins and outs.  He’s been through it 14 times already.  And then him saying all the complimentary things that he said only reassured that even further.  But also hearing what the other coaches had to say made it not as easy of a decision as I thought it would be.  I was tempted by that really cool jacket as well.

 

Q)  Okay.  And that comment about Adam saying you’re one of the best vocalists he’s heard throughout the blind auditions that would make me think that he wouldn’t let you go in the battle round.  So I mean did that comment light a fire under you or did it maybe do just the opposite and that it took some of the pressure off and gave you enough confidence to maybe relax and enjoy yourself a little bit going into the battle round?

 

Funsho:   I would definitely say it did a little bit of both in the sense that hearing him say that was reassuring because someone you look up to basically validated that you’re a good artist, that you’re talented.  It gives you a little bit of confidence.  But at the same time it also made me want to work harder so I can uphold that standard.

 

Q) Lela, even though Kelly Clarkson was very enthusiastic, you chose Team JHud instead.  Could you explain why?

 

Lela:   Because all my life I’ve been a theatre kid.  And, with my friends, in my theatre club Jennifer Hudson was praised and, I’ve been watching her movies and when she performs.  I’ve always really admired her. And she’s an Oscar winner.  And she’s in theatre, like I am.  She also understands that aspect.  And I’ve always had that in me.  Like if she turns around, I would be so happy to choose her.  But then once Kelly turned around and she told me all those really nice things it made it harder for me.  But I just went with my gut.  And I was really looking forward to see what I can learn from her.

 

Q) What has it been like working with her? 

 

Lela:   Basically just feel confident on the stage and just go full out, like, don’t hide yourself.  Just be yourself, don’t be afraid.  Go all out and just perform the best you can.  That’s one of the greatest things I can learn from her to feel confident.

 

Q)  Caeland, what schools did you attend and also how did you get on The Voice?  What was the path that led you there? 

 

Caeland Garner:  So the schools I went to when I grew up my elementary school was Courage, North Carolina, where my momma taught.  I went to Eastern Randolph High School in Ramseur, North Carolina.  I played baseball there and I was just always in music.  And then I went to college at St. Andrews Presbyterian College in North Carolina.  And I played baseball there. I threw javelin and shotput for the track team and was on cross country.  And I would drive every weekend pretty much when I wasn’t in sports to Nashville to be a studio musician.    And I grew up playing bluegrass and singing in church.  And when I started touring when I was about 13 years old as a touring musician through bluegrass and I was playing some southern rock and different things.  And I met a guy named Red Marlow through some guys in Nashville I knew.  And Red asked me to play in his band.  And eventually when I graduated and went to college he asked me to move to Nashville.  So I packed up an old camper I had and I moved to Nashville and lived there for four years just struggling to put food on my table and sometimes I mean honestly there were times I’d sleep in my truck after I got out of the campground when I didn’t have any money because I wasn’t able to play music anymore.  And I signed my first publishing deal and the journey kind of took off from there as an artist and my song writing career.  And I kind of always tried to follow my heart and be the person my mom and dad raised me to be.  And I just thought I’ve always wanted to be kind of a light for where I grew up because I always knew the people that didn’t have a whole lot.  And I just kind of wanted to chase my dreams to show people back home that dreams are worth chasing.  And if you work hard enough you can catch them, you know?

 

Q)  Did you audition for the Voice? 

 

Caeland Garner:   Yes ma’am I did.  One of my friends, Baber, he was on a couple seasons back.  He actually came to my show one night and told me he was, like, “Man, you need to think about The Voice.”  And at the time I was really hoping hard, you know, I was praying about a way that I could grow my following.  And so I got in touch with some people on the show and auditioned and it led me to the blind audition and that’s kind of how it happened.

 

Q) And who was the friend again? 

 

Caeland Garner:   My buddy was Baber.  It’s Barrett Baber.

 

Q) Abby, obviously all of you have amazing voices.  I was wondering what do you do to warmup?  First of all, do you sing every day unless you’re sick or something and do you have a particular warmup routine you use for your voice?

 

Abby Cates:   Well yes I definitely do sing every day.  And as far as warmup I’m a cedar kid.  So I’m always doing just, like, your traditional scales and things like that.  A lot of people definitely have their own specific ways that they like to warmup.  But I kind of have a traditional, cedar kid outlook.  Just drink tea and do scales and arpeggios and things like that.

 

Q) I assume you took voice lessons at some point or had a voice teacher.  Is there one that you particularly liked that inspired you the most? 

 

Abby Cates:          Yes definitely. I started doing musical theatre in second grade.  And the music director was my future voice teacher (Becky Barrett-Jones).  And I kept in touch with her and she actually ended up being one of my chaperones when we were at The Voice.  So I’ve known her since I was in like the second grade and she’s been a really big inspiration for me musically.

 

Q)  Hey Abby, you’ve already got something, like, 180,000 followers on Instagram.  How did that happen?

 

Abby Cates:     Yes.  So I started my account in, like, the eighth grade about four or five years ago – five years ago.  And at first it was just something that I did to entertain myself because I had just moved to a new place and I wasn’t really hanging out with people yet. But it kind of blew up the summer before my freshman year of high school.  So it kind of went from, like, 10,000 followers to, like, 30,000 in one summer which was kind of crazy.  And then it just gradually grew and I’ve been reposted on bigger accounts that kind of added to it.  And yes people just tagged their friends, like, kind of a social media game.  It’s kind of a mystery to me, I’m so thankful that it’s grown so much.  But I don’t really even know how it has gotten this far.  But I’m so thankful that I have that platform to work with.  And yes it kind of just grew gradually over a couple of years.

 

Q) Okay and how do you feel about the matchup of you and Kelly? 

 

Abby Cates:    I was a one chair turn so just Kelly turned around.  But even if all of the chairs had turned around I probably would still pick Kelly because I just think she has been one of my idols in life and music. I listened to her music when I was in, like, elementary school.  And after she won Idol, I’ve always loved her.  And I think she’s just such an amazing person.  She seems to be a very down to earth and grounded person and I love how she is as a coach.  She’s very, encouraging and I really like that about her.  It’s a really good match.

 

Q) Caeland, how much of an impact did Red Marlow have in your decision to audition for the Voice?  Like did Red tell you anything about his own experience on the show that made you think, like, you’d give it a try?

 

Caeland Garner:   Oh shoot yes. Man, Red’s a brother of mine. And when he was actually out on the show we had several friends that have been on the show and done well.  And we were texting just the whole time back and forth.  So I knew what a great experience it was for him to be out there.  And I remember the day I called him.  I was, like, man I have a chance to go out to L.A. to audition for the TV show The Voice.  And he said, “Stop right there.  Caeland Garner if you don’t do this we ain’t friends no more.”  So I was, like, all right, there you go.  And I was ready to do it.  And then talking to the show I asked him, I was, like, you know, this guy’s been a huge influence of mine not only as a person because he’s a good man, but as a singer because in the early years I didn’t know a lot of people in this town and I knew how hard it was as a songwriter and he was introducing me to the biggest writers that I could possibly get in the room with.  And on top of that Red – a lot of people don’t know it but he was here for 13 years as a demo singer and was one of the biggest demo singers in Nashville.  Almost half the songs I was listening to in the 2000s that were on the radio he was the one actually singing the songs in the studio for the songwriters for them to pitch to the artist.   So he was teaching me constantly, how to perfect my voice and how to get in the studio and listening to the artist that I was going to do backgrounds for because I was singing backgrounds for him.  So he was just a huge part of my whole journey.  I would reach out to him and still, like, man I just need some advice on, you know, like, how to navigate through this world of the show.  And he’s always been there for me and he was a huge influence on me doing this.  He really kind of put my heart at ease to know that this was the right step for my life.

 

Q)  And Caeland is Blake the coach you wanted going into your blind audition, like, is it safe to say there was very little chance of you choosing Jennifer or were you really considering it?

 

Caeland Garner:   Well no it’s crazy because – so I grew up singing a lot of different music.  I love Brian McKnight and, Otis Redding and Sam Cooke.  And I just sing, a lot of Boys II Men and a lot of oldies music growing up.  So I had a huge kind of soul R&B influence.  And when Jennifer turned at the same time Blake did I remember singing and I remember in the moment going oh crap.  Like I might just pick Jennifer right now.  But I mean, you know, being here in Nashville I’ve never met Blake.  But he’s always been kind of an inspiration to me musically because he’s got the career that I have been striving for and sacrificed everything in my life to get.  And so it was kind of, like, all right God, you know, what, I’m not going to take a chance at this.  I’m going to go to Blake Shelton because he’s going to be the one that can teach me something and I just told my heart so I had to go with Blake.  I mean at the end of the day I couldn’t look at Red in the next room and go well Red’s over there and if I choose Jennifer he’s going to be, like, you big dummy.  So I just went with my heart and chose Blake.

 

Q)  You chose to perform a Bryan Adams’ song and he’s a very prolific songwriter and very eclectic.  I was wondering how you would describe your musical style.

 

Jake Wells:    I think historically what I tend to create when left to my own devices is very soulful influences with a lot of funk and naturally I gravitate towards vocal harmony.  So I’m heavily influenced by songwriters, like, Justin Vernon from Bon Iver and Alan Stone and Matt Corby – songwriters that tap into the soul of their voice and also know how to find, like, a groove but can prioritize making something beautiful as well.

 

Q)  So what kind of record would you imagine yourself making?

 

Jake Wells:  Well yes so I actually have a catalogue of music that I’ve already released on all streaming platforms.  And so when I say historically what I mean is accurately to describe the music that I already have created I think that’s how I would put it best.

 

Q) What has working with Adam Levine taught you?

 

Jake Wells: Working with Adam Levine I think has taught me to step into the confidence, step into the shoes of playing a bigger game and being a performer and finding confidence in my own skillset and in myself and really owning that at my core.  I think that’s something that Adam does profoundly well.

 

Q) Caeland, what are your parents’ names?  How did your dad influence your music and do you have any North Carolina appearances scheduled, any performances?

 

Caeland Garner:   Yes ma’am.  So my mother’s name is (Martha) Garner.  My father’s  name is (Chuck) Garner. Did you ask me how my father influenced me?

 

Q) Yes your music.

 

Caeland Garner:   Yes ma’am.  So it’s kind of 50-50 in a strange way I would say of who, why I became the artist I am.  So my father grew up as a songwriter and a musician.  My dad can play every single instrument. And he doesn’t even know he’s a genius but he is.  And he just – he always just picks stuff up and starts playing it.  And he would listen to the radio and he could tell me exactly what a guitar player was and hum it back to me and never forgot the melodies.  So at a very young age I think it was five years old my mom put a piano in front of me because her mother played piano in church. So I started playing piano for, like, seven years.  And I played four years organ under lessons.  And that’s the only lessons I’ve ever taken.  And then my dad when I was old enough to hold a guitar he put one in my hands and he was, like, here.  And I was, like, okay can you show me stuff.  And he showed me three chords.  And then he told me after that he was, like, I’m not going to teach you anything else because if you love it you’ll chase it yourself. And so I grew up kind of picked on and I didn’t have a whole lot of friends mostly because I was just a weird kid.  And I would go home and practice for six and seven hours a day.  Just sit in my room. I would sit down with a CD player and my momma had an old record player.  And I would pick up whatever instrument was laying around – Dobro, mandolin, guitar or the piano and I would learn every single instrument on whatever song I was listening to at the time.  So my dad influenced me because he put me in the bluegrass world.  And I was doing that and I was singing country music and I was doing southern rock because he loved that.  And then my momma she was always listening to the Eagles and she was listening to, you know, the Beatles and Sam Cooke and Otis Redding and Brian McKnight and Boys II Men.  And was throwing all this oldies music at me.  So I always had that to listen to.  And I remember, I was never really accepted growing up vocally as a lead singer because I was playing bluegrass music and I wanted to sing soul music.  So I always had, like, a very unique individuality in my voice.  And I just kind of kept going with that.  And I guess that’s how I became who I am as an artist.

 

Q) Do you have any North Carolina appearances scheduled and can you say when you’ll next appear on the show on The Voice?

 

Caeland Garner:   I don’t know my next appearance on The Voice ma’am.  But I do know that I have as of right now – let me look real quick October 20 I’m actually going to be playing at City Limit Saloon.

 

Q) Where is that?

 

Caeland Garner:   It’s in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Yes ma’am, it’s called City Limit Saloon and I’ll be opening for a friend of mine on the show Mikele Buck.

 

Q)  A friend of yours on the show?

 

Caeland Garner:   Yes, we met on the show out there.  Yes and he kind of reached out to me because he wanted some help in Nashville through song writing and that’s what I do full time.  I write on a publishing deal and I produce. So I was, like, I’ll introduce you to people and I’d love to help you out because that’s what we’re put on this earth to do.  And he asked me he was, like, man I know you toured full time because right before the show I came off a three-month stadium tour in Canada and I toured by myself playing through a loop where I play all the instruments and I sing it all live.  I perform it live.  So I told him yes I’ll come down there and just do the show by myself and do my loop show and we’ll have a good time.

 

Q) Funsho, in your package you mentioned you had competed in talent shows as a chile.  And I’m curious if any of that ground sort of prepared you for The Voice competition.

 

Funsho:    Well what I was able to bring was auditioning for other TV competitions, like, American Idol and I actually auditioned for The Voice a few times or the initial casting process and never having made it.  So that whole process of trying and failing sort of conditioned me to work harder as an artist and get to the point where I’m at now where I can audition and actually be successful.

 

Q)  With those experiences how did you know what to do differently?

 

Funsho:   I felt, like, what to do differently just came with time and growth and just continuing to hone in on my craft.  And who I am as an artist and a person and that whole package of how I present myself visually and as a musician, you know, it’s been something I’ve dealt with over the time that I’ve been going through the years.  And failing and those kinds of endeavors and finally being here and feeling like I am fully myself as an artist fully realized.

 

Q) Also I’m curious when you said you left your government job.  How did your parents take that?  What was that like?  What was their reaction?

 

Funsho:   They were supportive of it because this was really relying on the hope that my blind audition would go well.  And my parents have always believed in me as an artist and believed in me as a person and encouraged me on going in and really focusing on my education.  But still supported my music as long as I had a plan B.  But when this opportunity came along it seemed, like, it would be my big break.  And they didn’t really want to discourage that.  So they weren’t upset that I quit my job because they understood that it was to pursue a music career and now a bigger opportunity.

 

Q) Caeland, I was reading the other day that Luciana Pavarotti never learned to read music.  And a lot of the famous musicians, like, Elvis, Michael Jackson, the Beatles many of them never learned to read music.  So my question to you is do you know how to read music and do you have any kind of opinion in general about reading music and being let’s say a working musician or popstar? 

 

Caeland Garner:   Wow ma’am ,thank you for the question first off.  And you probably aren’t ready for the answer.  But so – as a kid my mother went through a rough pregnancy with me.  And when I was born they were actually told that I wasn’t going to make it.  And then they later they were told I was going to be a vegetable.  And I had a lot of developmental issues – talking and learning to focus.  I’ve got really bad dyslexia.  And the reason I tell you that is because so early on they discovered that I had a knack for music.  And they put me into piano lessons.  So going through piano I was taught how to read music. And I can read music.  But I can’t read it quick enough to play.  That’s my problem.  I get caught up and it’s just, it’s overload for my brain.  So my dad always learned how to play by ear so that’s what I started doing.  I can hear a melody and I can pick up an instrument and I can play it now.  And so as a producer because I have a couple projects I’ve put out here in town.  I’ve had some label interest over the years that pushed me to go to The Voice so I can grow my following.  So as a producer I just started learning and looking up some of my heroes that were producers and learning how to hear it and kind of go that direction with it as far as playing.  And I utilize the national number system.  And the national number system is something that happened in the studio is where there’s a number associated with every chord.  And if you need to transpose the song to a different key then the numbers still apply to whatever key you’re in.  So I use that a lot for doing my music if that helps out at all.

 

Q) Yes, no that’s interesting.  Thank you. And do you think it’s normal or not normal do you think it’s the norm for people working in Nashville or across the country to play more by ear or do you think most people do know how to read music?

 

Caeland Garner:   well I think it’s the norm for musicians to just play by ear because to me, you know, at the end of the day, I’ve done it all. Like I’ve really learned to write.  I’ve learned to read music and try to do things the correct way because I want to become the best artist, musician, songwriter I can possibly be.  At the end of the day I’ve learned what I’m really trying to practice in my day to day writing I woke up this morning and I had a song writing session.  And I remember having the thought Caeland keep it simple.  At the end of the day, everything I write is for my artist career pretty much.  And when I write something I always try to tell myself the person that I’m singing to is my own.  And as an artist that’s who you want to connect with.  And they don’t always want the most complicated thought out musical thing in the world.  They just want something that makes them tap their feet and feel good.  And, I had a fellow tell me one time, you know, you want to do one thing through music and that’s make somebody cry.  And whether they cry tears of joy or tears of sadness it doesn’t matter. But if you can do that you’ve captivated an audience and you’ve connected with somebody through a musical sense.  So that’s kind of what I try to do is just play whatever I feel because if I feel it then it’s right.  And that’s about the only way to do it.

 

Q) That sounds right.  And I wasn’t making a judgment.  I’m not saying one’s correct.  It’s just Luciana Pavarotti and Paul McCartney don’t need to read music…

 

Caeland Garner:   No, amen.  No I’m right there with you.  Yes I’m right there with you.

 

Q) Lela, what were some of the bigger things you’ve done musically prior to The Voice?

 

Lela:  First of all thank you and hello.  I’ve been doing musical theatre, like, all my life.  But I’m also a dancer.  So I’ve been performing, I’ve been competing.  I performed once in the Miami Heat Stadium at a game in the half-time show as a dancer.  So that was one of the biggest audiences I’ve ever performed in but that was dancing.  In local theatre I think I enjoy being, like, the big theatres on a stage I’ve been doing it and I love it so much.  But I’ve never done something as big as The Voice.  So it is, my biggest accomplishment so far.  It isn’t, like, I’ve been doing all my life.  In my little 15 years that I’ve been living I’ve been doing musical theatre all my life.

 

Q)  Have you also tried recording any music of your own or anything, like, that?

 

Lela:  No I haven’t tried that yet.  I really dreamed of it and I like to sit down and just think because I think a lot and I imagine a lot.  So then I like to sit in my room and just bring ideas together, have my little journal.  I have my vision of what I would like to be as an artist.  And I have my little songs in my journal. And I know that when the moment’s right it’ll happen.

 

Q) Okay and if you were to make music what type of music do you think you’d make?

 

Lela:    I definitely would do Latin music.  That’s my style. That my heritage for making it very modern and fun.  I like music that can pump up an audience and get people to dance because I love the feeling of dancing.  A feeling of forgetting about life.  So I’d love to make very upbeat Latin music that can do that to somebody.  So I’d go to that side.

 

Q) Abby, you talked about performing for church. I was wondering if you performed for any crowds bigger than that? 

 

Abby Cates:  Yes I definitely – well I lead worship at my high school.  So that’s, like, every week – well last year I did it more often.  But in front of my entire school but my school’s kind of small.  So it’s only, like, 500 people.  But that’s an audience that I’m comfortable performing in front of because I know the people so it’s a little bit easier here.    But I’ve sung, like, national anthems.  It’s kind of, wherever I can be singing in front of people it’s where I’ll do it.  I sang the national anthem for my Scuba Four and the Dayton Dragons, the baseball team. And yes, I will perform wherever I can.  So I’m comfortable in front of an audience from also doing theatre and being in big theatre surroundings.  But yes mostly I’m comfortable with worship, like, in front of churches which is good.  And then also just anywhere I can perform.

 

Q) Yes because I thought you’ve been very comfortable on stage.  And so I was wondering if you had had performed in any bigger audiences.

 

Abby Cates:    Yes definitely worship and also online I have a lot of people but that’s not as nerve-wracking.

 

Q)  How would you describe your musical style? 

 

Abby Cates:          I would definitely say it’s mostly, like, it’s definitely pop music but with a lot of soul, R&B influences. I wouldn’t say that I’m 100% pop. I kind of like to have a little bit more of a soulful vibe with it and then also I kind of like to provide some alternative in there too.

 

Q)  Oh who’s some of your favorite artists? 

 

Abby Cates:          Well definitely Alessia Cara who I sang for my audition.  I love her.  And kind of I listen to so many people and right now I’m really into kind of that R&B, like, (Jenae Isso) I love her and I have such a wide variety that I don’t even – I just have so many favorite artists I can name.

 

Q) Jake, that chair came at the very last second. I was wondering if you could talk to me a little bit about what that felt like.

 

Jake Wells:     I remember being in complete shock.  To be honest with you in the last bit of my performance I had kind of – I had accepted the fact that it looked, like, I wasn’t going to get a chair turn.  I thought that I knew pretty clearly where the chairs would have turned in that song, you know, that song is so beautiful but it doesn’t have huge moments.  So I really tried to capture what it had.  And when a chair didn’t turn there near the end of the song I was, like, okay at one point I think I’m going to just perform a beautiful song for the people in this room and that’s going to be the extent of it. And then I remember closing my eyes and when I opened them back up all of the chairs were being turned around.  Adam was so last minute that it was, like, a split second ahead of the other three coaches.  And so in the very beginning portion of that moment I was so disoriented I wasn’t sure if I should celebrate because I wasn’t positive that he had turned around or if maybe it was just a fluke.  So I didn’t want to prematurely celebrate, like, but I remember as I was starting to process it and the shock kind of was subsiding a little bit there I was so happy. Adam was who I was hoping for from the very beginning of this process.  And having that come to fruition and seeing that come together was absolutely just mind-blowingly awesome.

 

Q) And can you tell me a little bit about how you transitioned from the family band to being your own musician?

 

Jake Wells:    The transition was definitely slow.  My family has played music together since I can remember.  And, you know, even when we weren’t traveling the country performing for churches we still loved to play music together.  I think as adulthood came to be and I graduated high school and moved out of my parent’s house and started realizing my love for music as a songwriter and as a performer, went way beyond just playing at church and doing these things.  I gradually started stepping into that role and kind of giving myself the confidence and saying, you know, what you do have something that you need to share with the world and you do have something to say and I think it’s time to do that. The sort of – the catalyst to me writing music and confidently singing was a hitchhiking trip that I took across the country.  Really it was more accurately down the entire West Coast.  And I just brought a guitar with me and had the songs that I knew how to play guitar. And the songs I knew how to sing and that was how I made money to eat while I was hitchhiking.  And so that definitely kind of solidified for me who I am as a songwriter, who I am as a vocalist and who I am as a performer.

 

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*