Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Caitlin Caporale, 23, of Newburgh, N.Y., sang Christina Aguilera’s “Impossible” and turned in the best performance on the final night of the blind auditions. She got chair turns from Pharrell Williams and Blake Shelton, the only two coaches with spots left on their teams. Blake complimented her on “a 700-pound voice coming out of an 80-pound body,” but Caitlin joined Team Pharrell.

Her background: Caitlin told The Voice she’s been watching the show since Season 1 and always wanted to be a contestant. Growing up, she says she participated in lots of talent competitions, from county fairs to school talent shows. “But this stage is definitely the biggest,” she said. Oh, and she’s a big Christina Aguilera fan, calling the Voice coach her “favorite singer of all-time.” During a visit to California, she actually got to sing for Christina at a competition Extra was holding. As for her day job, Caitlin is a customer service representative with a cable service and works the 3:30 to midnight shift. “I hope one day I can depend on music solely,” she said.

What the show didn’t show: According to her website bio, Caitlin’s mom was a member of the musical group “Up with People” and her older sister, Grace, was a vocalist, so she grew up around music. She’s been singing for about seven years, and that website includes an impressive list of competitions in which she has placed or won. In addition to Christina, she says her musical influences include Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson and JoJo. Oh, and she once got to sing with Kenny Rogers at the Eisenhower Theater in West Point, N.Y. She also writes songs, prefers singing soulful music and, in a conference call with the media, called the end of her blind audition “insane,” in the best possible way, of course. She’s referring to the part of the audition when she got to sing part of “Impossible” with her Idol, Christina. After joining Team Pharrell and getting a hug from him, she says Christina asked her to sit in her big red chair. “And at that point, I’m thinking I’m just going to be sitting in her chair. And that was enough for me. And I’m looking around and she’s like, ‘Let’s sing together.’ And I’m like, I cannot believe this is happening to me right now. And I thought to myself, ‘Don’t mess up. Just make sure you sing this. Don’t hit a wrong note.’ I just went for it … I mean, I’ve never seen her in concert. So the first time for me to hear her sing is with me, in front of me.’ It was just a dream come true.”

On picking Pharrell: “He started talking about the journey after the show, which really caught my attention. Because, yes, this is a great platform and everyone wants to win. But it’s really about growing your fan base and growing as an artist yourself.” She says she’s especially hoping Pharrell can help her with her confidence.

On iTunes: Just her Voice audition song.

Update: She was matched against Briar Jonnee in the battle round. They sang “Falling” by Alicia Keys. Pharrell declared Caitlin the winner; Briar was eliminated from the show. In the knockout round, she went up against Hannah Kirby, who had been stolen from Team Blake. Caitlin performed “Warrior” by Demi Lovato and was declared the winner again.

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Twitter: @caitlincaporale

“Stay with Me” (Sam Smith cover)

“Human” (Christina Perri cover)

“Radioactive” (Imagine Dragons cover)