The Voice – Season 13 – Auditions: Night Three

By starrymag | October 6, 2017

By: Jamie Steinberg

 

Q) Shilo, before your audition, you had said that that you wanted to be on Jennifer’s team.  So can you talk about why you ended up choosing Miley?

 

Shilo Gold:    Yes, I’d love to.  So I think it’s really a personal experience when you’re standing up on that stage, and I’m not sure exactly what I was expecting.  But, you know, sometimes when you’re talking to someone and you have an immediate connection, when Miley began talking, she had a lot to say. Personally my voice gets really exhausted and I tour full time. And it’s really hard for me to go out and to be social and except for the line experience, it was a lot of being around people and a lot of talking.  And her biggest point was that when she tours, she has to be really careful about how social she is and how she finds a balance. And she really just pulled at my heartstrings right there because that’s like my deepest struggle as an artist is like, since I love connecting with people, I’m so talkative and when she said that, it just – something switched in me and I was like ah, this is my girl.  So that’s what happened.

 

Q) For three of you, we didn’t get to see your blind auditions.  So I was hoping you could fill us in on what we missed.  Talk about maybe how you chose your song, how you thought the blind audition went and what type of feedback you got from the judges.  And if we could start with Anna Catherine please.

 

Anna Catherine DeHart:  So really I mean I had Blake and Adam turn for me so that was awesome within itself, you know, just to hear their feedback to the kind of the veterans of the show, giving feedback to you and telling you different things. But I think some of the best advice that I got actually came from Miley.  She said that she could tell when my voice kind of faltered a little bit.  I went a little bit pitchy. And so, you know, to get that feedback, even though she didn’t turn around from me – for me, it was just kind of cool to pull all that from them.  But yes, it was pretty cool.

 

Q) And why Blake?

 

Anna Catherine DeHart:    I went with Blake just because – I mean it was a really hard decision.  I kind of went back and forth in my head.  I went in thinking that I would go with Blake and then when Adam turned around, I was like kind of conflicted there.  But just when Blake start talking about country music and how country music comes from the heart and how he’s worked in this business so long that, you know, he knows the ins and outs of it and how it works.  So in the end, it was just like he knew that, the heart of country music and that’s just really what pulled me in with him.

 

Alexandra Joyce:  Yes, of course.  Okay.  So I had Adam, Jennifer and Blake turn around.  I sang Wildest Dreams by Taylor Swift and I thought that that’s a really good song for me just because it showed a really great variety of my range.  It was a great song for me to throw some emotion into and I just felt like it was just a great song overall.  And I also had the opportunity to change it up and make my own rendition of the song, which is a big part of who I am as an artist.  So I was very excited to be able to showcase my version of the song on the stage.

 

 Q) Alexandra, you went with Jennifer.  So how, why?

 

Alexandra Joyce:     All three of the coaches talked to me very little.  Adam kind of said there was a couple of pitch issues because I was very nervous.  And he said that one of his favorite things about the show is that we take artists that aren’t fully there and we really work to make them more present on stage and more confident on stage. And Blake said his usual thing about like, you know, you’re the artist.  We want to make this about you.  And Jennifer just didn’t really say much of anything.  She just kind of said to me like, you know, I can’t really compete with the other coaches, so good luck.  And I ended up calling her out and kind of saying well, you haven’t said anything to me.  What do you have to offer to me?  And then she kind of sat up in her seat and she really started to talk to me and said, I see the drive in you.  I see the passion in you.  I know that you have – it doesn’t matter who you go with now, because you have what you need and you know that you have what you need to make it. So right when she stood up and really started to get passionate about it was like when I knew like that was where I needed to go.

 

Eric Copeland:  I had Jennifer turn for me and that was just such an amazing experience, because I didn’t think she would have turned for me because of my vocal type, because of course Jennifer has a very, very demanding sound, just a real powerful voice.  I didn’t think that she would have picked me, but I was really glad because she saw me and my style and the fact that I was different.  And I chose O-o-h Child by the Five Staircases because I felt like I could make the song my own while still keeping the integrity of the song. And I also felt that the song would, you know, engage with people and whatever they’re going through and possibly be an encouragement to the world.  So that’s why I chose my song and that’s my experience in my blind.

 

Q) Addison, ould you talk about your musical influences?  I mean you’re such a young performer, but you seem to be such an old soul.

 

Addison Agen:      Yes.  Some of my biggest musical influences are mainly just song writers, not necessarily like great vocalists.  A lot of them are, but my definite biggest one is Brandi Carlile just because of her songwriting and that’s like how I started realizing that this could be something I could be doing for a living.  But I was raised completely surrounded by music at all times.  My mom would play guitar when she was pregnant with me all the time and I would follow her around the nursing home and I got a good sense of every single different age of people because my mom worked with every single different age. So I would have like the same conversation with an eight year old as I would with like an 80 year old because I believe like no one should be treated differently because of their age.  And that’s why I think it’s really important that I’m on the show, showing other people that are my age or younger than me, that it’s possible to do it at such a young age and get like a kick start and that it’s important to follow your dream from the beginning.

 

Q) You come from a smaller town like Fort Wayne and now you’re on the national stage.  I mean you crushed your blind audition.  Tell us all these thoughts and feelings.

Addison Agen:   Coming from a smaller town that not many people have heard of is I think an advantage because everyone’s so proud that finally someone from their hometown is doing something so big.  And I think it’s really making other people proud for me to represent such an awesome place I have always called home. And we have a great music scene here.  So it’s inspiring other people here to go after their dreams.  And I have a bunch of connections here, which has been awesome to be raised in such an awesome community.  So yes, I’m just really proud of where I’m from and I hope everyone here is proud of me too.

 

Q) Tell me how you felt when you chose Team Miley.

 

Addison Agen:      Well, that was a really, really difficult choice.  I was going into it thinking that I was going to go with Miley, but Adam put up a really, really good fight and I kind of forgot what he said after I got off of the stage.  I think kind of just like blackout.  I think a lot of us experienced that.  But so I just had to go with my gut and just remember that she’s been in the same position as me, working at a young age, the same thing so he would know what to do with my genre and my age.

 

Q) So you’re obviously feeling on top of the world.  How would you explain how you feel at this current moment?

 

Addison Agen:      Yes.  It’s crazy.  Everyone wants to get to know Miley Cyrus.  So it’s a dream come true to get to know her and hopefully be working with her a lot more.  And yes, just she’s an awesome person and I’m really, really happy with my choice, and that she decided to turn around for me.

 

 

Q) Addison, what I’m wondering about is, one of the things that Adam said was that, you know, you picked this song, Jolene which is a song about a woman who’s been through a lot of – and I won’t say the word, but he did. Being 16, I’m wondering, how did you hear that song?  How did you get to know it?  Have you ever performed here locally or performed it before?  Tell me about that song choice.

 

Addison Agen:      Yes.  Jolene by Ray LaMontagne has been one of my favorite songs for a really, really long time, and it’s such a sad song.  So really, really getting to know the song more and like preparing for my audition was pretty much just me getting really, really deep into the lyrics and understanding where he’s coming from when writing them.  And so it’s about a man who is so down because of all the drugs that he’s been using and alcohol and all these addictions that he can’t take his eyes away from it to go with the love of his life and stuff like that.  So he just like passes by the love of his life. And I think everyone knows someone who struggles with addictions and all these problems.  Everyone has problems, but like it’s just like I have so much hope for people that you can get over bad things and your life can turn around.  So that’s where I was like trying to sing in a hopeful way, but also tell the story of how sad it is to be right in the middle of it. I have never like done drugs or anything like that, but I think looking at the perspective of other people that are really, really close to me and family friends, it’s easy to understand.

 

Q) Moriah, I know you got a four chair turn and as I was watching last night, it kind of looked like it came down to Adam and Miley, but I was wondering, did you look at it like the same way?  Were you really considering those two heavily?

 

Moriah Formica:   Yes.  It was definitely between them. Adam is like you said – right up my alley, like rock music.  He’s more like the rock guy.  But, you know, Miley was also saying how she could, you know, have that big sisterly advice and she got her start when she was way younger than I am, and being 16, that I would be really helpful I think. She has a very diverse, large audience.  And so I guess what I was thinking too in that moment is like maybe this would be good.  Like maybe she could help me be a little bit of a crossover, you know, since rock isn’t totally mainstream right now. So I suppose I just felt the biggest connection with her and ultimately I just felt this huge thing in my heart just, you know, my heart was saying like just pick Miley, pick Miley and so I did.

 

Q) Regarding Miley, when she said that she’ll let you arrange your own music and pick your own songs, and I’m curious like if that was one of the determining factors.  And if it was, do you think that will ultimately benefit you or not benefit you because if you’re there to grow as an artist.  So what do you think about that?

 

Moriah Formica:   That wasn’t really a deciding factor in my choice.  But obviously like I do feel like it is a benefit because, you know, I guess because I can do my best on songs that I’m comfortable with.

 

Q) Alexandra, how did you get into music as a serious performer?  And I’m wondering where about you grew up in Wesley Chapel, you were able to hone your craft by doing public songs that kind of got you comfortable with the format you’re facing now.

 

Alexandra Joyce:  I have grown up in Wesley Chapel for my entire life.  I grew up in different school choirs and then eventually joined an Allstate choir and Tampa Bay Children’s Choir.  And, you know, and I went to a private school called Academy at the Lakes and was in choirs there as well. It was probably around the age of 13 that I started to pick up and realize that I wanted to be more of a solo artist and I wanted to kind of go from doing more formal music to more of a singer songwriter, more passionate type of thing.  And I started to pick up different instruments and taught myself how to play the guitar and from there just kind of blossomed into something I never imagined. So music has always been in my soul and I think that learning how to play the guitar and starting to understand music a little bit more, just gave me opportunity to grow as an artist.  And from there I’ve kind of gone out and done open mic nights and played at weddings and, you know, concerts and talent shows in the area. And unfortunately Wesley Chapel, doesn’t have a huge music scene, but I’m working to make that change, and I am actively working to perform anywhere that I can because it’s a passion of mine and it’s what I love to do.

 

Q) Davon, last night Blake said that you’re going to be in the finale.  So what did you think after hearing that?

 

Davon Fleming:    I thought he really said it.  I don’t know.  Like my mind was racing so it was really great experience that everybody turned around. And Blake has won the most seasons as a coach so for him to say that and these country music folk, everybody loves him.  It really made an impact definitely.

 

Q) Eric, because we didn’t see a bio package on you, I was hoping you could fill us in a little bit on what you’ve done musically to this day, what some of your biggest performances have been, what your inspiration is, what you see is your style of musical.

 

Eric Copeland:      Absolutely.  I’d love to.  Well, I’m from Kansas City and jazz is really prominent there.  So naturally I attached myself to jazz.  So growing up singing gospel music in church, jazz and then being in choirs led me to go into Fisk University and that’s where I studied classical music.  I was a part of the Fisk Jubilee Singers there.  I have been in a group.  I’ve performed at the White House, Carnegie Hall, at the Cato building.  I am a solo artist, just doing different things in Nashville, Tennessee and Kansas City, come to open mic showcases that goes on in local areas.  And when I moved to Los Angeles, I got enrolled in school for my Masters degree at CSUN, California State University, Northridge.  And I am pursuing a Masters in music vocal performance and yes, and started getting into background singing.  And so I’ve done different things for Johnny Cash’s fund.  Let’s see.  Who else?  Bobby Jones gospel, a lot of different country artists that I really don’t know because when you do session work, you really don’t know who you’re doing it for.  You’re just going in to do the job. But let’s see.  I’m also part of different productions here in Los Angeles.  One that went viral was the Gaga for Rent video on YouTube.  But I’d say that my style is very jazzy.  I don’t try to be – I swear I don’t, I really try to be natural and soulful, but I think because of my connection to it as a child and growing up in old school music, it really has kind of stuck itself into my voice. So that’s what I would say that’s my influences and where I come from and the artists.

 

Q) Davon, what was it like to sing with Jennifer Hudson, and why did you ultimately choose to be on her team?

 

Davon Fleming:    First, it was amazing to sing with Jennifer.  Like she is royalty because I remember watching Jennifer on American Idol, you know, and not winning it all until later coming out on top with working and Broadway and selling millions of records, moving to theatre. Everything that she’s accomplished, that’s the stuff that I want to do and so her calling me to sing with her, that was like a dream come true.  It was like my second living.  You know, another one of my dreams.  And that’s also the reason why I chose her.  For a long time, people told her what she couldn’t do it and she kept fighting and she came out on top.  And I think anybody can really appreciate that.  I mean somebody’s problem is different – determination.  So, you know, dream big and put aside what everybody has to say, anybody can respect that and always admire her for that.

 

Q) Can you tell me a little bit about where you have performed?  And also, there’s a story going around that your dad actually built you a stage in the record store, and I’m wondering if that’s true and if you ever performed there.

 

Addison Agen:      Yes.  Well, I was in a family band with my family obviously and we used to play at our…

 

Q)  And what’s the name?

 

Addison Agen:      The Agen Family Band.  It was just our family playing at church events and like farmers’ markets and then my mom was the lead singer of it and I just did backup and played piano.  And then we switched and then from there I kind of took on solo stuff.  And my brother plays bass for me when I have full band stuff.  And yes, my dad did build a stage, not intentionally for me, but knowing that I would be playing on it a lot.  So I was the first one to play on it, which was awesome and the vibe of his store is really awesome and the people there are like some of my favorite people to play for. So it’s awesome and I play mainly at smaller stuff.  I’ve never done anything even close to as big as this.  So I’m not as experienced as these other people, but I’ve been doing it for as long as I can remember.

 

Q) Hannah, a couple of years back, I think you were on another singing show.  In fact, you did pretty well.  I was wondering how you thought that experience might help you on The Voice.

 

Hannah Mrozak:   The show that I did previously definitely I think prepared me for this, mainly just because it was a different reality show and, you know, I was so young when I did it.  I was about 15 or 16 and, you know, I thought I was kind of – I was going into a line and almost kind of going in blind.  And I wasn’t really sure of myself both as an artist or like a performer. And I think that that overall experience, it’s made me a lot more confident in myself and it really helped me find who I was.  But even over the years, I’ve still been finding myself and I truly feel like once I auditioned for The Voice this past year, that I’ve never been more ready.  So I was really happy with the turn out obviously, but yes.

 

Q) Noah,  I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about your musical influences and what genre you consider yourself.

 

Noah Mac:            Yes.  Of course.  Yes, I grew up listening to, you know, a lot of – I did listen to a lot of pop.  I kind of fell in love with Sam Smith’s voice, Hozier’s songwriting and kind of found my myself along that genre and sticking to their songwriting and their voices a little bit. But I also grew up with classics like Queen and James Brown, Ray Charles and Elton John and just admiring them and also, you know, keeping them as my influences.  But yes, I’d say I’d consider myself a little bit more down the soul genre more than anything else.  And I wouldn’t consider myself as just a soul performer or just a rock performer, but a bit of a fusion between a couple of those genres.

 

Q) Alexandra, your bio on The Voice website says that you were also really into dance at one point, but then you had chronic pain that doctors have never been able to diagnose that sort of steered you away from that.  Did that help direct you toward music and can you talk about that a little bit?

 

Alexandra Joyce:  Yes, of course.  So I was a fulltime dancer doing ballet, tap, jazz, modern hip hop, as well as quaint.  And it was a really, really big thing for me.  I was very, very passionate about it and it was definitely, you know, I love all arts and it was something that I could throw my emotion in to and really perform.

 

And having to leave that definitely pushed me more into my music and helped me to find even more emotion and more passion within my music and has definitely helped me to find myself as an artist more.  So it’s definitely been something that has been an obstacle to get over, but my music has helped me to get over it.

 

Q) And were doctors ever able to give you a diagnosis?

 

Alexandra Joyce:   No.  We haven’t gotten a solid diagnosis, but we do have, you know, ideas that – we have indications that it could be fibromyalgia and we’re looking into lupus and other auto immune diseases as well.  So it’s uncertain but that’s kind of what we’re looking at.

 

*CONFERENCE CALL*