The Voice

Countdown to The Voice Season 11: Hear the pre-show music

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Season 11 of The Voice begins Monday.

Between now and then, I’ll introduce you to some already available music from artists we’ll meet on the show.

Remember to check back here for recaps of each show, photo galleries and profiles of the Season 11 cast members.

In terms of those introductions, we’ll begin with Angelica Robinson, a country blues singer from Fayetteville, Ga., singing “Innocence.”

The song is from a five-track EP called “Where I’m From” that she released in October. You can hear more from Angelica on her YouTube channel.

Next up, one of the veteran musicians we’ll meet during Season 11 — Blaine Long, a singer-songwriter from Phoenix.

Blaine has seven albums and a pair of EPs available on his website. “Healing Time,” the song embedded below, is from his goes-down-smooth 2015 album, “Can’t Change the Sun,” which includes a number of standout tracks. Make sure to check out “Unbreakable Heart” too.

The Season 11 Voice cast will also include Elia Esparza, an aspiring pop singer who’s from El Paso and now based in L.A.

The song below — “Starlight” — is one of three singles Elia released from a self-title 2015 EP. She also released a single called “Phoenix” earlier this year. Plus there are lots of cover songs on her YouTube channel.

Time to meet another male member of the Season 11 Voice cast — 26-year-old Cuban-American Johnny Rez from Miami, Fla.

According to his Facebook page, Johnny plays a wide range of music, from soul to country. But the lone single he’s released to date, “All This Time,” falls into more of the pop realm. The song came out last year; released simultaneously was a Spanish version, “Siempre En Ti.” Here’s the music video.

Belle Jewel, a young indie-pop artist from Provo, Utah, is among the Season 11 auditioners for The Voice and already has nine singles on iTunes.

The music video below, filmed in the graffiti tunnels of Florence, Italy, is for a song called “Salt,” released as a dual single with the equally impressive “As It Is” earlier this year.

Check out the track list for Lane Mack’s debut EP and Voice fans will spot a familiar name. Season 5 contestant Ray Boudreaux provides a vocal assist on a track called “New Orleans Bound.”

This season, Lane will be an auditioner on the show. The song below, “Trouble and Worry,” is the closing track on the Louisiana blues singer’s impressive self-titled debut EP, which was released last year.

We’ve met some great female rockers on The Voice. Season 11’s auditioners include Sophia Urista, lead singer for the rock band The VeeVees, who have an EP and a trio of singles on iTunes.

Ah, but Sophia is a multi-genre talent. The New York City-based singer also released a solo blues EP — “Ratchet Punk” — in June; be sure to check out “For His Love Turns Cold.” Below is the music video for “Heartbang,” one of the songs from The VeeVees’ 2015 EP “Cream of Heaven.”

It’s not unusual to see singers who have auditioned for American Idol to also wind up on The Voice. That’s the case with 18-year-old Tristan Bushman from Ashton, Ill., who tried out for the final season of Idol and made it to Hollywood, but not the big stage.

Tristan released a seven-track EP called “Heartwood” last year. Below is the video for “Summer Fling,” one of three he released from the album. You can check out the others — for songs called “Underdogs” and “Girl You Done Me Wrong” — on his YouTube channel.

The Voice has already leaked Ali Caldwell’s blind audition performance of “Dangerous Woman” — yep, she got a four-chair turn.

If you’d like to hear more from New Jersey-born Ali, she released a five-track EP called “Heart of Ballads” last September. Below is an a cappella version of one of the originals, a song called “Crazy.”

The Voice has always been a popular stop for singers who enjoyed commercial success early in their musical careers and are looking for a second shot at stardom. This season’s auditioners will include Billy Gilman, who scored a Top 20 country hit called “The One” at age 11.

He’s now 28 and 15 years removed from his last charting single. But he released three singles last year’s “Say You Will,” “Wishing You Were Here” and “Falling” after coming out as gay in a YouTube video to fans. Below is the music video for “Say You Will.”

I saved my favorite among the pre-Voice music I’ve come across so far for last — the music of Pittsburgh-born, L.A.-based Tarra Layne. In a YouTube interview, she describes her 2015 “Once You Go Read” EP this way: “It’s soulful. It’s southern. It’s rock and roll. Period.” I’ll be more succinct: “Wow.”

You can check out all five tracks on her YouTube channel, and they’re all worth hearing. I’ll embed my favorite, “I Thought That Bitch Moved.” Again, wow!

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