The Voice – Blind Auditions – Night Three – 2018

By starrymag | March 9, 2018

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

 

Q) Hey, some of you did not get to explain on the show last night why you selected the coach that you picked, so each of you could do that – the ones that didn’t get to answer last night.  Johnny, could we start off with you?  Why did you pick Team Alicia?

 

Johnny Bliss:   I actually always thought of Alicia since the beginning of the show.  So it was very important for me to even connect with her at all.  I used to listen to Alicia as a kid my whole entire life, so it was very important for me and her. We’re both Aquarius.  We’re both from New York.  We’re both very soulful.  Whether it’s in Spanish or English, you can definitely tell that we’re singing from our soul and we try to make people feel us.  So I think it was really important for me to be on her team for sure.

 

Q) And did you ever waver at all or did she win you over when she – I mean, she almost serenaded you.

 

Johnny Bliss:   It was so hard because once you are up there in front of people who you admire so much and you’re put on a pedestal, it’s hard because they’re actually fighting for you.  So it’s flattering, it’s humbling, but at the same time you’re scared because you’re like – you don’t want to disrespect somebody else, or you’re like, “This is my one moment to pick my favorite person on this panel,” and I have to say that was Alicia.

 

Q) Austin, if we could move on to you, why did you select Team Blake?

 

Austin Giorgio:     Team Blake was a good choice for two reasons.  First and foremost, you could tell a lot about someone by what was said behind closed doors and I heard a lot of great things about Blake. So that being said, with a guy of his stature, I knew right away I’m going to go with a guy that’s genuine and cares a lot.  You know, you see, he really isn’t doing a lot of stuff for TV.  He’s just himself which is what I like. And the second reason why I chose Blake – you got to look at The Voice as Harvard.  It’s a college.  You know, this isn’t the end.  I don’t expect them to make any one of us stars.  We have to make ourselves stars. And with Blake, someone like him, he’s a guy that, you know, he’s busy, but he’s in my car and he’s on a tour, I’m sure if I went up to him, I could reach out to him in some form.  I could catch up with him and run something off somewhere.  You can celebrate with him whatever is going on.  Those are probably two of them.  Did I answer your question, Mark?

 

Q) Reid, how about you, why did you go with Adam?

 

Reid Umstattd:     I think like Johnny, I kind of have him at the back of my head going up there.  And then once Alicia – you know, like everybody is saying, it’s just like this crazy experience, sort of surreal, like out-of-body thing that’s happening while you’re up there.  So kind of whatever your preconceptions were, you’re like your ideas going into it, kind of disappear once Alicia Keys shoots her views raised at you. Like, I was kind of confused and I blacked out for most of it honestly.  But at the end of it, I just kind of came back to what Adam was saying about sort of our shared musical taste and he kind of hit on to it that it didn’t show on air obviously.  But he spend a lot of years with Maroon 5 before they got famous, traveling in a band just like I did for 10 years with my band, and that kind of hit all of me too.  But it was mostly about our shared taste in music.  I really thought that out of the three – or out of the judges, that he could have – he could provide you with the most sort of guidance through the show.

 

Q)  Jamai, how about you, why did you go with Alicia?

 

Jamai:     I think I went with Alicia because, honestly, I feel like as an artist, you just really want to be understood and I felt these are people that I don’t have any personal relationships with.  But if there was anyone who I could personally connect myself with, it would have been Alicia Keys because in a lot of ways, culturally, for me, she’s been the soundtrack of my life. I can really say that for any other judge, that every album, every part of Alicia Keys’ career, I can almost recount it.  So, for me, that really sold me, and I don’t even know, I’m going to be honest, I could not believe how beautiful she was.  And then the fact that when it was her turn to kind of persuade me, she really expressed that she was interested in my career outside of the show which is, as an artist, is my ultimate priority. So I think her beauty plus her ability to show me that she’ll be able to coach me and guide me throughout the show had a lot to do with it, and just the fact that growing up, her music has been the soundtrack of my life.

 

Q)  And lastly, Jamella, if you could explain to us – we didn’t even get to hear the coaches make their pitches to you, so if you could explain why you went with Team Kelly.

 

Jamella Perkins:    So, obviously, you know that Blake and Kelly turned.  They have a lot of good things to say.  But, you know, Kelly understood where my voice was and what I was trying to do with the song when I did perform it. Aside from that, you know, Kelly has been on a show very similar to something like this, so I wanted someone who had personal experience doing the same thing and could really coach me and help me perfect my craft while being on the show.

 

 

Q) Mia, you mentioned during your intro package that you had a difficult experience in a competition that you were on earlier and I was wondering if that happened to the America’s Got Talent and could you talk a little bit about what made that experience difficult and what you learned there that you’re bringing to – into competing on The Voice?

 

Mia Boostrom:      Absolutely.  So when I was 15, I auditioned for America’s Got Talent and made it through, and I was looking to compete on the show.  But what I didn’t know going into it was how much I was going to be involved with just the comments online and things like that, and at 15 I didn’t really prepare myself for something like that.  So I kind of shied away for a while just because it does made me stop going to put myself out there. So what changed is I started to just really learn to embrace who I am as a person and respect the talent that I was given.  And when I was lucky enough to be on The Voice, it was kind of like coming out of my shell again and being able to just prove to myself that it is about my voice and it’s not about what people say to you online, and just standing up for yourself.

 

Q) Did you feel like this time around, you’ll stay away from online comments, or do you just feel tougher that someone says something nasty to you on Twitter, that you can just blow it off?

 

Mia Boostrom:      I think – yes, of course, I mean, I think that nowadays, it is just common for people to rip us apart just in general because we are in a public eye and people love to say anything about anyone.  And I’m sure, you know, everyone, even on this line included, has heard some things about themselves that they are like, “Oh, that kind of hurt a little bit.”  But when I was so much younger, I didn’t know enough about myself as a person and as an artist to stand my ground.  And I think this time around, I’ve just grown more than a musician and as a person, and not just staying away from things like that but being able to realize that what someone says about me online doesn’t affect me.

 

Q)  Hey, first of all, I wanted to tell you that I really enjoyed your remake of Hotline Bling.  It was beautiful. My question was how did you decide on which song to audition with and how did you come up with the new arrangement?

 

Christiana Danielle:    I chose the song because I thought that it was something that was going to stand out.  I mean, when you have the blind auditions and you can’t see somebody, you really want to stand out in the crowd with your voice and your song choice.  And so this showed a lot of versatility and highlighted the different parts of my voice that I feel, like, worked best for me.  And I got the actual arrangement I heard from a wonderful band called Thirdstory.  They’re an amazing group and got parts from them and I, you know, incorporated jazz parts.  And I got in, I made it what it was and I would be remiss if I didn’t, you know, mention Thirdstory.  They’re amazing.

 

Q) Austin, first of all, fantastic performance, man, absolutely fantastic.  You owned the stage the minute you walked down there and I can see some of the influences you’ve had, but I’m curious we just saw from Rochester where I’m calling from in Geneva, were there any influences locally in Rochester, Upstate New York area that helped shape as an artist?

 

Austin Giorgio:     It’s amazing.  Jim, there are actually – obviously, my father, I mentioned that he’s definitely a local influence.  Also, my dad’s band, a lot of those musicians in that band are talking a lot about jazz improv.  But to be honest with you, it’s kind of nutty, Jim, but I have this weird plan of going into The Voice.  I want to try something different because if you look at past seasons and it’s like, name five contestants from the last four and it’s, like, I couldn’t.  So I have this really interesting plan that I wanted to implement and it involves a local artist by the name of (Danny Wayne) and it’s all about – right now, I’m kind of like a wolf in sheep’s and people think I’m going to go down the Buble route.  I love him, but I actually want to start making kind of like what Christiana did, so who knows what happens with us, kind of like Drake-Sinatra-type music, so that’s what I want to go with music.

 

Q) Yes, this is for Johnny and Jorge.  Both of you were involved in Spanish-speaking singing competitions.  Now, I wondered what you learned from those experiences that you brought to The Voice blind audition and what you think will help you moving forward on the competition, and if we could start off with Johnny please.

 

Johnny Bliss:         Hey, yes, so I was on “Va Por Ti.”  If you look it up, you can definitely check that out.  It was a pretty nice production.  I learned so much.  It was like – they helped – that helped me so much with the process and the waiting that we have to go through especially being there, our open calls were, you know, June of 2017, and now that everything is actually popping out, you know. So being in that competition and being in that reality show basically because it’s what we’re a part of, I see more like a reality show because it talks about life.  It talks about our reality in the world and bringing it up on TV, including our talent and, you know, our art.  So it helped me so much that I have to say that if it weren’t for that competition, I would have probably been like crying in my room or probably, like, arguing with every single person who pass me by because we’re so many different artists, and in different lanes and different genres, especially, you know, me and Jorge, that we’re like Latinos.  We’re the only two, including Genesis who basically spoke Spanish, and it was kind of hard because everyone else was easier to match together they were into the same genre than – and I was very late.  Everybody was like, “Johnny, we aren’t worried about you, bro, because you got your own thing going on.”  And I’m like, “Yes, I guess.”  But, you know, it was important for me to do that first. And a lot of the response from the people is great because they saw me on that show and then even though it didn’t go that great for me there, they are like, “You don’t give up, man.  That’s great.”  That’s another thing that I’m happy that the people see that I’m not ready to give up at all.

 

Q) Can you tell some of the fans were carried over to the show?

 

Johnny Bliss:         Yes, absolutely, there’s a bunch of people saying, “I’m following you all the way from ‘Va Por Ti.’  I think you’re great.  I think it’s awesome.  I think that you deserve this.”

 

Q) And Jogre?

 

Jorge Eduardo:     How is it going first?  Well, I think the show helped me – before I was in The Voice, I was on the Mexican version of The Voice and I think it mainly helped me to grow as an artist, as representative performer, and it gave me new confidence when I step on stage and – but, you know, it’s funny because back then – me and Johnny met back then when we just were recording that show.  I was recording for The Voice at the same time in the same place, so it was funny because we met back then but we never talked to each other and we’re just around this show… …so it’s – yes, it’s really funny how small the world is.  And so I think it just helped me a lot to understand why I want to be in this show.  And I think my ultimate goal is to get a career out of the show and you know, get new fans and it’s amazing – the response I’ve gotten from the audition last night and I’m really happy about it.  And I’m just really excited to see what’s going to happen after the show. And I think  that’s what The Voice in Mexico helped me for, to understand what I want to do with the extra attention I’m receiving in this show and use it in a way that is going to be beneficial for my career outside the show.

 

Q) I also want to ask you, you have released a couple of singles in English.  Are they reflective of the type of music you would like to do after the show?

 

Jorge Eduardo:     Yes.  Well, absolutely, I think that’s one of the (goals).  Through my whole career, since I was teenager, I’ve been working on my (sound) and it’s definitely something I would like to do after the show.  I feel that there’s still something I have to give to people.  I think I haven’t done – I think there’s still more things I have to say. So I started writing those songs in English when I moved to the U.S. and I do my own productions.  I do everything.  I record the voices.  I do the production on my computer.  So it’s a – I don’t know, I think it’s been kind of a growing process and it’d definitely marking the path I want to go forth.  But I feel that there’s still something that I want to show to people when I perform and when I show them my music.

 

Q) Brett, I was wondering if you could tell us a little bit about your decision to incorporate ukulele into ukulele into singing your song – your song.

 

Brett Hunter:  Sure, yes.  Yes, certainly.  Well, you know, coming out on The Voice, you know, this is what you do.  We’re in a house, long hair.  You know, there have been others before me.  I think that what I really wanted to do is do something different and surprising.  I mean, that’s what’s so fun about the show, is that you get to turn around and see what you didn’t expect. This is a traditional funk song and just having a ukulele I think allowed me to make it my own a little bit more.  I mean, I got the – you know, they asked me to play it by myself afterwards and just kind of incorporating a little bit of my style, doing something different.  And I think that shows my personality a little bit too.

 

Q) Adam had mentioned he thought you would get four turns if you would strip it back with just the ukulele.  Do you wish you would have performed it like that?

 

Brett Hunter:  I kind of do.  It’s funny because you’re going into this and you have this like world-class band, right?  You have this amazing band.  You know, you’re in this competition that is extremely humbling.  And you know, the last thing you want to do is walk into that room with this world-class band and say, “You know what, guys, I got this.  I’m going to take that.”  And so, you know, I didn’t really feel – I didn’t have the confidence to go in there and really ask for that.  But looking back on it, you know, I did wish that I would have just gone up there and done it myself and just rock it solo.

 

Q) Right, because none of them had really heard ukulele oddly.  It seems like it was a prize to them that you – when they turned and saw you (playing) I really well. 

 

Brett Hunter:  They asked me if I was actually really playing.

 

Q) So one more question, do you know who Tiny Tim is?

 

Brett Hunter:   Yes, I do know who Tiny Tim is.

 

Q) I thought that was funny that that was like kind of odd (to listen).

 

Brett Hunter:   Yes, when he said it at first, I was like, “Oh, God, I, like, saw the memes, the memes like flashed before my eyes,” and I was like, “No.”  But I think it’s pretty funny.  It’s pretty funny.

 

Q) Christiana, I was wondering if you could give us a little bit more detail on what you have been doing musically right before The Voice, and then how you wound up auditioning for the show?

 

Christiana Danielle:    Yes.  Musically, I wasn’t really doing anything.  I led my school’s worship team at my small Christian school at Huntington.  And I graduated college and I realized that I wanted to go to grad school but I kind of figured that out too late.  And so I was like, “Okay, I’m going to take a year off.” Everybody tells that I should sing more.  I want to sing more.  So on this year-off, I’m going to travel.  I’m going to be more outgoing, but I didn’t really know how to do that.  And so I got an email – I kind of (prepared) for The Voice a year prior but I never send in the video because I was too (scared). And so I got an email talking about the last open call in St. Louis and that’s only a couple of days away.  And so I was like, “Dad, how far is St. Louis from here?”  He’s like, “About six hours or so.”  And I was like, “Oh, well, you know, there’s this open call for The Voice.”  And my dad has been encouraging me ever since I was little, he was like, “You know, pursue singing.”  He said, “Absolutely, let’s go.”  And I was like, “But I might have to take off work.”  He said, “It doesn’t matter.”  So he completely called my bluff and I went down to St. Louis and the rest is history.  I just kept going and kept getting furthee – you know, and step up the step, and so now I’m here. And yes, this is just basically the thing, musically, I’ve ever done, just kind of launched myself into the music industry.

 

Q) And what do you think are some of the – you’ve got some mind-blowing feedback from the coaches.

 

Christiana Danielle:    Yes, I just – I still can’t believe it.  I’m like – I’m still – I still can’t believe it.  It’s really encouraging just because a lot of people, you know, have pursued music before they came on the show.  This is kind of like a stepping stone.  And this is like, my first step and so I kind of felt like a little baby here.  But it’s super encouraging and it just kind of empowered me to be like, “You know what, you can do this.  No, you don’t have much experience, but you’re getting the same kind of feedback that everybody else is getting.”  So it was really, really, really encouraging.

 

Q) I was wondering how did you feel when Kelly turned around and let’s put it this way, how did you feel when you realized that Kelly had been blocked, considering that she was kind of a person – one of the coaches you were considering – you know, that you were actually hoping would turn for you?

 

Johnny Bliss:   Oh, my God, so I wanted all the coaches to turn for me, but I didn’t think that was going to be a possibility.  I thought I was taking a risk by singing in Spanish.  I was like, “This is going to go really well or this is going to flop.”  So when writers asked me about that, I was watching, and then they showed how I spoke about colleagues, that’s so true.  I did feel like Kelly is such a versatile artist and I’ve been following her from her season on American Idol and she – I used to download her stuff as a kid.  Like, I’ll sing her stuff.  I saw “Princess Diaries” many, many, many times and sang the “Breakaway” many times. So when she turned around, actually that was super surprising to just be face-to-face with her.  It was amazing.

 

Q)  Were you disappointed that she was blocked?

 

Johnny Bliss:   I was so disappointed that she was disappointed.  But my point person was always Alicia Keys because I cannot even – I cannot even deny how much I love this woman.  She means so much to me in so many different ways, and I love Kelly just as a much.  But I don’t know, there’s something about being with Alicia that just resonates with me and it’s so magical.  It’s like a soul-to-soul being for sure.

 

Q)  You two seemed really connect up there, so congratulations.

 

Johnny Bliss:   Thank you so much.  And also, like, I think that this is going to be really good for me and it’s been really good for me so far.  I went with my instinct and my gut. And the fact that Kelly was blocked actually made it so much easier for me to choose because had she not been blocked and gone off for me, though she’s been going off, she’s like, “You’re so good right now.” So it would have been really hard for me to be like, “No, Kelly, I’m sorry, but I love Alicia just a little bit more, you know.”

 

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*