Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Tawnya Reynolds, 33, of Nashville, auditioned with Willie Nelson’s “Mama, Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to be Cowboys.” Early in her performance, Adam and Shakira turned around almost simultaneously. Usher turned around late. Blake Shelton, the country coach, stayed put. After Shakira whipped out an English to Country dictionary, Tawnya decided to join her team.

Tawnya Reynolds of Team Shakira on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Knockout Round: Sang “Hell on Heels,” but was defeated by Garrett Gardner, who performed “Too Close.”

Her background: A New Mexico native, Tawnya describes herself as “country to the core” and says she’s wanted to perform in Nashville for as long as she can remember. So she moved there 12 years ago and said she performs four to five times a week, wherever people will let her, even if it’s only for tips. She says she’s been “shot down” by every record label in town and auditioned for The Voice looking to take her career to the next level.

On picking Shakira: Tawnya says she’s so country and sang such a country song, she expected Blake and no one but Blake to turn around. “When Shakira opened her mouth, before she was even done with the first sentence, I fell in love with her,” Tawnya said in a conference call interview the day after her audition aired. “She is so passionate, and that’s what drew me to her. She said everything right.”

What the show didn’t show: In her Facebook bio, Tawnya writes that she was adopted by her parents when she was 7 days old and thrived on family and her love of country music growing up. She taught herself to play guitar and write songs before heading to Nashville. And while she might not have landed a record deal, that hasn’t kept her from releasing two albums — one in 2009 and one in 2010. You can hear a couple of Tawnya songs not included on either of those albums by heading to the “Listen to Tawnya” section of her Facebook page.

Quote: “The fact that they (the coaches on The Voice) can go off just what they hear is amazing. It’s an interesting concept to think you could lay everything down for someone you’ve never seen. That does not happen. Sex sells. Beauty sells. On this, you sell yourself on your talent and your talent alone. I think that’s amazing.”

On iTunes: Her audition song, plus a 12-song 2009 album “Carnival” and a 10-song 2010 album “Standing in the Rain”

Keeping up with Tawnya
Twitter: @TawnyaReynolds1
Facebook
YouTube channel

“I’ll Be Your Whiskey” (from 2009 album)

“I Like the Way You Drink” (unreleased original)