Idol Chatter & Voice Views

RaeLynn knew full well the gamble she was taking during the blind auditions on The Voice.

She’d watched the show in Season 1. In fact, it was the way Blake Shelton worked with younger contestants that convinced her the she needed to try out for The Voice.

She’d also witnessed his lukewarm reaction when a contestant auditioned with one of his wife’s songs.

Nevertheless, she took the stage and launched into “Hell on Heels,” the first single from Miranda Lambert’s all-girl group, The Pistol Annies.

“I do it a little faster, and I don’t sound anything like her,” RaeLynn told Carson Daly. “But I’ll be happy if any of the judges turn for me.”

Turns out RaeLynn knew what she was doing. She hadn’t completed the first verse when Adam Levine turned around. Blake followed moments later.

And there was no doubt the 17-year-old country singer was going to pick Blake as her coach. After all, she says Blake and Miranda were “some of her inspirations with country music.”

RaeLynn — real name Rachel “RaeLynn” Woodward — grew up on a farm in Baytown, Texas, near Houston. She says she did chores like any other girl living on a farm, pretty much whatever her parents told her to do.

But unlike a typical farm girl, she graduated from high school two years early, then headed off to Los Angeles to pursue a career in country music.

Hence The Voice, where she was the first singer featured in the season premiere, and one of the best that evening. She was also featured on the first battle round show, where she sang “Free Fallin'” with Adley Stump and was declared the winner.

Next up: the live shows beginning April 2. And she’s going to be a youngster going up against some veteran singers.

“I’m very, very competitive,” RaeLynn told The Voice. “I’ve always been that way.”

And even if she doesn’t win, she’s says The Voice might lead to her goal of landing a record deal and more exposure for what she describes as her “different sound.”

Here’s a link to RaeLynn’s official Facebook page. On Twitter, you can find her @RaeLynnOfficial.

Now for some RaeLynn style country music.

“Make It Reel”

“My Type”

The Voice audition — “Hell on Heels”