Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Emily B., 33, of American Falls, Idaho, auditioned for The Voice with Chris Isaak’s “Wicked Games.” She demonstrated a wonderful tone from the word go, and a huge note toward the end of the performance prompted Shakira, Blake Shelton and Usher to spin their chairs in turn. Shakira complimented the intelligent choices Emily made in changing the song’s arrangement. And Emily joined Team Shakira.

Her background: Emily says music “took off for her” after college, when she moved to California to chase the dream of becoming a singer. For her, the dream took her behind the scenes when the vocal director at her church introduced her to session singing. So she sings off-stage for television shows, movies and albums. She says she’s done session work for The Muppets, a Cee Lo Green Christmas album and the 2012 movie “Pitch Perfect.” She’s also survived a health scare. Right before her wedding, a doctor found an abnormal growth on her right retina during what was supposed to be a routine eye exam. She wound up undergoing two brain surgeries.

On choosing Shakira: “Shakira is amazing. She has this energy and presence that just draws you to her. The thing I loved about her was she was not only so confident in herself, but in the encouragement she gave me about my song. And she never took her eyes off me. A beautiful smile, a sparkle in her eyes. I thought, ‘I have to work with her.'”

What the show didn’t show: Emily (Gomez) Benford said she grew up in a musical family and singing has always been an outlet for her. But that health scare revived her dreams of becoming a solo performer. In addition to the two brain surgeries, she had to undergo four eye operations, and a side effect of one of the brain surgeries was losing her voice for six weeks. “So, life was put into perspective and I found this new way of looking at my voice and the gift I’ve been given,” she said during a conference call with the media. “So my new approach was that I was going to approach singing with no fear and using it as a tool to encourage others and inspire others.”

On iTunes: Just her audition song. But if you head to her SoundCloud page, you can check out an Emily B vocal reel. And you’ll find a pair of songs — “Wow” and “Not Alone” — on her Facebook band page.

Update: She defeated Cierra Mickens in the first battle round; they sang Sara Bareilles’ “Brave.” Then Cierra was stolen by Usher. She was eliminated in the second round against Kristen Merlin. They performed “I Can Love You Better.”

Keeping up with Emily:
Twitter: @EmilyBeMusic
Facebook

Editor’s Note: For links to profiles of all the Season 6 artists on The Voice, go here. And check back for live blogging during every episode of Season 6.

“Solitude”

“This Baby Boy”

“Marvelous King” (with Eric Lige)