Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Carly Harvey, 39, of Washington, D.C., performed “It Hurts So Bad” by Little Anthony & The Imperials. Carly described herself as a blues singers, and that’s obvious from the first note. She sings with lots of soul and lots of emotion. And that eventually earned her chair turns from Reba McEntire and Michael Buble. Michael called her wonderful and loved her big powerful voice. Given that power, Reba said she’s not sure she could hep Carly, but said they’d have fun on the show. Carly decided to join Team Michael.

Here’s more about Carly.

* Carly describes herself as a bluesologist, native scat creator and (Washington) D.C.’s Queen of the Blues.

* She adopted the latter title after winning a D.C. Battle of the Bands competition in 2016. It’s hardly her only award. In 2021, for instance, she was named D.C.’s Best Blues Artist at the local Wammie Awards.

* Along the way, she’s released lots of music, including a 2015 EP called “Yamwao” and a 2019 EP called “Kiss & Ride.”

* Kiss and Ride is also the name of a band Carly formed and fronted in 2013. It’s named after D.C.’s unique named for its “Park and Ride” locations.

* Carly’s most recent project, an 11-song album called “Kamana,” is available through Bandcamp. She calls it an “auditory picture of the blues family tree” and “my love letter to the blues, to my ancestors, and to every truth I needed to sing out loud.”

* In a 2023 interview with Blues Blast, Carly says she grew up in a musical family. Her mother was a jazz singer involved in theater; her father was funk guitarist.

* Both got days jobs and stopped their musical careers, but Carly says her home was always filled with great music. She says she started singing the blues at age 19.

* Carly says both of her parents are Afro-indigenous and that she started incorporating indigenous influences into her music during the pandemic. That’s what she calls native scat.

* One of her more recent career highlights included singing John Lennon’s “Imagine” at the Kennedy Center earlier this year. “This song has always carried a timeless message, but as a resident of Washington, DC, its vision of unity, peace, and possibility feels especially urgent in these times,” she wrote on social media.

Editor’s Note: Monday was reveal day for contestants on The Voice Season 28. Keep checking back each day for more profiles of Season 28 contestants.

Carly on social media:
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