In an event unlike any other, an important sense is stolen
away from you. Leaving talented critics without the ability to use perception,
stereotypes or the common yardsticks for what makes a singer “talented.”
A competition that gives new meaning to the old-age phrase: Don’t judge a book by its cover. With
NBC’s The Voice, there is no pretty
cover to catch attention just previous journeys and dreams.
Performers, who tried out and were hand-picked, take the
stage with four judges’ backs turned, hoping the singer gives them what they
want in order to turn their chair.
However, when a talented twenty something named Jess Kellner
belted out the first five notes of a classic Elvis Presley song, two Grammy
Award winning artists turned their chairs instantly to find there was even more
to her than her voice.
The faces of Shakira and Usher were filled with enamor as a
voice trickled with Adele, Janis Joplin and Norah Jones was paired with a
pleasing face. While singing “I can’t help falling in love,” she used that
angelic persona to offset her “silky and velvety” voice.
“Once I started singing, all of the fear went away,” Kellner
said. “I felt at home and (the judges) turned their chairs really quick so I
could just focus on singing the song well.”
The unusual characteristics of the show continued as the
contestant gets to choose her coach after completing their song. For Kellner,
two of the four judges turned in Usher and Shakira, leaving Maroon 5’s Adam
Levine and country artist Blake Shelton in regret.
Shakira did her best convincing Kellner to join her team,
telling her that she needed a girl on her side. But it was the eight-time Grammy
winner Usher who used his charming yet knowledgeable advice to sway Kellner to
choose the R&B artist.
“Usher said something that really struck home with me: ‘If
you really want to do this forever, if this is your dream, you need to come on
my team,’ Kellner said.”
The ultimate goal of the competition for all of the
contestants is obviously to win, outlasting your 40 plus peers and catching the
love from your coach, the other three judges and America. But, the
lesser-obvious and probably more impactful goal is to gain experience and
powerful insight from your coach.
“Being able to work with Usher was a big thing I look back
on,” Kellner said. “What a wonderful experience. (And) being able to perform
for some of the biggest people in the industry, it’s all amazing.”
After making it past the “blind-auditions,” Kellner then
survived the “battle-rounds” where each coach pairs up singers on their teams
for a somewhat of a duet. Kellner drew the matchup of a young Taylor Beckham
who had a more poppy and high pitch to her voice. Usher chose Amy Winehouse’s
“You know I’m no good,” and pushed the female singers to pull in the audience
in their performance.
Usher, known as an entertaining performer, chose Kellner
because of not only her voice but her presence and her ability to captivate the audience with her energy. Kellner showed off something only select fans from
Austin, Fort Worth or San Marcos have seen: an energetic stage presence.
“She’s just a natural,” band mate Cole Gramling said.”I
think ‘man, she’s the same person on TV as she is at her house.’ She doesn’t
let it stress her out or make her arrogant. She just gets up there and sings
amazingly as always and works hard. She’s the perfect person to get an
opportunity like this.”
The “battle-rounds” continued with a little more than 20
contestants left but this time each person got to choose their own song and
would battle each other through different songs. Kellner chose a song that was
personal to her in James Morrison’s “You give me something,” as it relates to
her mother.
Kellner’s performance ignited Levine to say that “it was the
best (he) has heard of her while on the Voice,” hitting almost all of her notes
perfectly except for one portion in which Kellner and Levine recapped. Shelton
even went on to say that he liked Kellner’s performance better.
However, it was Usher who had the last say and the executive
decision. That was her last appearance on the Voice, lasting almost a month and
was among the final 15 contestants in the show which is full of unbelievably
talented singers.
“I wasn’t shocked at all honestly,” Kellner reacted to
Usher’s choice. “Josiah (Howley) is a great character on the show and (he) had
a lot of fans so I wasn’t surprised Usher wanted to continue pursuing him. “
Although Jess did not reach the live shows, which feature
the final 12 contestants, and she only sang three songs the amount of exposure,
experience and knowledge she gained throughout the process could push her to
the next level of a performer. It should also help Jess & the Echoes.
“I feel like Jess being on the Voice has really blown away
the roof on our potential as a band,” guitarist Casey Savage said. “Just the
first night she was on the show, we gained hundreds of more followers and
‘likes’ on Twitter and Facebook just within a few hours.”
 |
| Jess's appearance on The Voice generated a lot of buzz from the Austin community, including a local restaurant named "El Arroyo." (Credit to Jess & the Echoes Facebook) |
“We (had) the opportunity to connect with thousands of fans
that now have heard Jess’s voice and love it,” Gramling said. “No matter how
far she (got), exposure on a national TV program is amazing and we hope the
Voice fans will get the album or find their way to a show (so) we will get to
share our music with even more people.”
The band’s future looks brighter than ever all thanks to the
opportunity Kellner had on the Voice but also to her ability to soak up insight
and withstand the sometimes critical and nit-picking advice the coaches would
give her.
“Coming away from this experience I learned a lot about
myself and set new goals,” Kellner said. “I feel a lot more comfortable in my
abilities and also on stage. I would say I have come away from this thicker
skinned.”
No comments:
Post a Comment