These last five singers, who survived the Battles and Knockouts, along with the 15 other members of Teams Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Christina Aquilera and Pharrell Williams, will begin competing on the Live Shows (April 6) for Season 8’s coveted top spot as The Voice. They reflect on their Knockout performances, the advice of the coaches and their hopes for the future.
Lowell Oakley (Team Pharrell) talks about the gal, back home, that inspired him to sing “My Girl”: “She shot me a text right after she saw me sing it (on the Knockouts). She was like, ‘Uh, we’re on the street. Do you have a girl back home that you sing about?’ being as sarcastic as she possibly could. (laughs) She thought it was great. But, you know, it’s been a little difficult. We hit things off, really well. But then, you know, I had to go away for long extended periods of time to film the show, so it’s kind of bumpy. But, she kind of understands. Honestly, though it was dedicated to her. It kind of got me in that mindset of actually singing and conveying that emotion of the song, what the song’s really about. I really put a lot of importance on that. When I’m singing a song, I have to believe the emotion, you know, I have to believe you. That’s just huge for me. If I don’t believe what you’re singing, I mean, it’s not going to move me. So, I really tried to have that mindset when I was singing ‘My Girl.’ She knew it was for her, so it all worked out.”
Tonya Boyd-Cannon (Team Adam) explains how her coach, Adam Levine (whom she now considers a life-long friend), has already given her a sound bit of advice that got her the Lives and will, hopefully, propel her to the end: “The main thing Adam has taught me is to always be myself when I’m performing music, no matter whose tune it may be. Even if it’s a song by someone legendary as Stevie Wonder, like ‘I Wish,’ which is a big song. It’s a song that you have to approach, you know, very tenderly. And, in the midst of it, do everything he told me. Just don’t lose myself. Remember from whence I’ve come and where I want to go, and to live in that moment. And that’s just what I did. And that’s what I’m taking with me. And, to continue on to move further to keep to that. Adam is great. He’s that person that has an approachable attitude, seriously. With everything, he knows how to separate the person and the business. Look, we’re in here to work. And, once the work is done, we can kind of let our hair down, the hair that I don’t have. (laughs) So, I just sit back and relax and enjoy, you know, the ride. And continue to remember that, you know, you’ve gotten this far with the hard work and dedication, so remember to keep that in the forefront.”
Brooke Adee (Team Blake) explains why she chose “Electric Feel” to sing at the Knockouts : “It was a lot different song for me, because the first song I did was a ballad. And, ‘Electric Feel’ was definitely indie rock. But I really, really, really liked it. I haven’t really done anything like that before. If I’ve done anything indie, it was more low-tempo, really chilled out, but this one was more rock. I really liked being able to show a little bit more stage presence on stage and everything. I feel for sure that I can move around a lot more on stage. With the Battle Round performance, I just felt really confident and I wasn’t nervous when I got on the stage. So, I was pretty proud of that.”
India Carney (Team Christina), a classically-trained vocalist, says that being on The Voice has been a welcomed surprise for you, because it was, surprisingly, always something she imagined herself doing: “I’ve always wanted to do a show like this, and I’ve auditioned a couple times before finally getting the call. So yeah, I’ve always wanted to do something like this ’cause I see the extreme benefit for any artist who’s lucky enough to be chosen to do something like this. You know, you get the exposure that you need. And, on this show specifically, you get to be coached by people you’ve looked up to your whole life. I’ve always wanted to do this. I’m so thankful I got that opportunity.”
Joshua Davis (Team Adam) talks about his expectations going into the Live Shows: “I think for all of us it’s a much faster pace. I mean, they’re kind of prepping us on just kind of being prepared for a faster pace for learning songs, for just to kind of going with the flow and working really hard, not getting much sleep. You know, I’ve got a three-month-old son. I’m used to not getting much sleep. And I think that it’s going to be really exciting. It’s going to be fun. The fact that it’s live is great because we’re all going to be in the moment. I mean, it’s such a group of diverse and talented people. I’ve got a lot of faith in everybody and all the staff and all the producers, as well. I’m super pumped.”
See The Voice this Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday nights at 8:00pmEST / PST and 7:00pmCST on NBC.
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