The Voice recently returned for its 12th season. Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Alicia Keys and Gwen Stefani are all on hand to coach a new group of singers looking to make it in the music industry.
BuddyTV took part in a conference call with the advancing artists from night four of the Blind Auditions. Taylor Alexander shared why he sang a Cher song, Kawan DeBose reacted to Adam’s Prince comparison and Aaliyah Rose admitted if she’s nervous to be on the show at such a young age. Also, what did the contestants reveal about working with the likes of John Legend, Mary J. Blige and Ludacris? Read on to find out.
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Why Did Taylor Alexander Perform a Cher Song?
When country singer Taylor Alexander took to the stage for his Blind Audition, no one would have expected him to perform a Cher song. But he did, and Adam ended up scoring a country artist on his team.
When I asked why he chose to cover “Believe,” Taylor said, ” I decided to go with the song mostly just because I thought it would be novel. It’d be something to talk about and it’d be a great opportunity to turn a song that I thought was really well written and really cool and kind of [turn it] on its ear a little bit so that you can hear it from a different perspective.”
But this wasn’t the first time Taylor has performed this song. As he explained, “I actually started doing that arrangement back with an old band of mine and probably started doing it somewhere around 2013 or ’12 or so.”
Taylor also thinks that it’s “certainly possible” that he’ll cover other songs that viewers might not expect someone like him to perform. It all depends on what Adam thinks, he said.
Regardless of whether or not he goes down that route, he considers his genre to be traditional country. “It’s usually a little bit more like Merle Haggard or George Jones or Johnny Cash, Hank Williams, that sort of world. But I usually say traditional country.”
Why was Kawan DeBose “Nervous” About That Prince Comparison?
Adam gave Kawan DeBose high praise after his audition, comparing his falsettos to the late Prince’s falsettos. It turns out, Kawan was nervous to hear that. He actually told the producers that maybe they should edit that part out. But why?
“Because I know how revered Prince is, and there are certain artists like Whitney [Houston] and Prince and Michael [Jackson] you just don’t touch. So I was really nervous about it. I was very flattered, of course, but I was just very, very nervous that that aired and I would get backlash from that.”
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Opening for Mary J. Blige and Ludacris, Working with John Legend
We’ve seen some contestants in previous seasons mention that they’ve worked with big stars before. Season 12 is no different, with Kawan revealing that he opened for Mary J. Blige and Ludacris. When I asked about this, he wasn’t sure if he should reveal anything but went ahead anyway.
“I shouldn’t say this, but I’m going to say it anyway,” he said. “I remember a show I did with Mary that I opened for her, and she made everybody clear the backstage, so I didn’t really get to meet her.”
As for Ludacris? “Opening for Ludacris was pretty great because he was like two hours late to the show. It was pretty great. It was awesome, though.”
Gaby Borromeo, on the other hand, worked with John Legend back when she was 16 or 17. “I remember being in the studio with him, and he was just down the hallway and his voice projected and it just sent chills down your spine, the way he is as an artist and as a person,” she explained. “And he sends out this incredible energy, and seeing that at a young age really stuck with me and I learned a lot from him.”
Why Did Aaliyah Rose Audition at Such a Young Age?
For the first time ever, The Voice has lowered the minimum age requirement to 13. Viewers have already seen some of those younger singers try out for the show, including Aaliyah Rose, who is 14 years old. She’s been wanting to audition for quite a while, but she was always below the age limit.
“When the age got lowered, I was super excited because I’ve always wanted to audition for The Voice. It has always been a dream of mine. And out of all the shows, that’s the one show that I wanted to do. But I had to be 15 and this was when I was 11, and so I was always too young.”
Aaliyah added that at the time, people had been telling her she should go on The Voice, but she would always have to reply that she’s too young. Now she’s finally able to make her dream come true.
Some young singers might find it intimidating to have to compete against people older than them. Aaliyah, though, doesn’t see it that way, saying, “I think it’ll be cool to sing with other artists that are older than me because I can learn from their experiences they’ve had, and I think it would be really good for me.”
Are you hoping Taylor Alexander chooses another song that’s out of left field? What did you think of the Mary J. Blige and Ludacris stories? And are you glad The Voice lowered the age limit so singers like Aaliyah Rose could audition? Let us know what you think in the comments section below.
The Voice season 12 airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8/7c on NBC. Want more news? Like our Voice Faceook page.
(Image courtesy of NBC)
Staff Writer, BuddyTV
Jeff Dodge, a graduate of Western Washington University, has been a TV news editor for many years and has had the chance to interview multiple reality show stars, including Randy Jackson, Nick Cannon, Heidi Klum, Mel B and John Cena.
