Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Natalie Stovall performs during the battle round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

You might say Natalie Stovall has been a bit busy since her time on The Voice ended.

She’s played a series of oversea shows for U.S. troops serving abroad. She’s gone back to touring as background singer and fiddle player extraordinaire with Bobby Bones and the Raging Idiots.

And she’s been recording new music. In fact, she’s promising a new single very, very soon.

On The Voice, Natalie landed a spot on Team Blake Shelton, was eliminated in the battle round, but then brought back by Blake as his comeback artist in the Season 13 playoffs.

That’s where her time on the show ended, but if you haven’t already and you enjoy country music, you should check out the two EPs and the stand-along singles she released as Natalie Stovall and The Drive before appearing on The Voice.

Here’s what Natalie told View Views about her time on the show and her music moving forward.

Voice Views: I know everything we’ve seen on the show was filmed a while back. What have you been doing musically since then?

Natalie: I have spent the majority of the last decade relentlessly touring with my band, most of the time playing over 200 shows a year. The Voice definitely put a halt to that kind of touring for bit! But it was a break that I didn’t even realize I needed. But after 3 solid months in Los Angeles, I was so ready to be back on the road.

As soon as I got home from The Voice in September, the first thing I did with my band was go overseas with Navy Entertainment to play shows for deployed troops in Naples, Italy; Sigonella, Sicily; Rota, Spain; and Souda Bay, Greece.

This was our 7th trip overseas and we usually go to the Middle East or Asia. So it was fun to see these bases in Europe. And it was our first time on base in Greece. It’s a tiny little base and they don’t get much entertainment. So it was quite the thrill to bring a little bit of home to our men and women abroad!

I also went back out on the road with Bobby Bones and the Raging Idiots and played on Saturday night at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas. The audience was unbelievable and we had the best time playing that show.

We left Sunday morning before the horrific events took place on Sunday evening. But we knew so many people that were still there — on the crew, backstage, musicians, friends. And after having just seen all of those smiling faces from the crowd… it’s just been really hard to process. But it makes you realize what a blessing this life is. I am so fortunate that I make music for a living. And I feel so thankful for all of the opportunities I have been given. And it makes me want to work even harder to achieve my goals.

Being Blake’s comeback artist just reminded me of how important it is to Never Give Up. I feel like I have a whole new perspective and I have never been prouder than I am now of the music I am making. I have a new single coming out in early December called “Wine or Whiskey.” It’s one of the songs that my band and I recently cut in Nashville with a few of our favorite studio musicians and a producer I have wanted to work with for a long time, Brad Hill.

Natalie Stovall performs during the playoffs on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Natalie: Boondocks. That song is SO much fun to sing and it’s right up my bluesy, soulful-country alley. I am a huge fan of Little Big Town, so it was a blast to sing their song on the show. I felt so great about that performance – I wouldn’t change a thing looking back on it. And for some reason, I wasn’t nervous at all — which I can’t say about any of my other performances!

Voice Views: I’ve really enjoyed the music you’ve already released. Is more on the way? And, if so, what can you tell me about that?

Natalie: There’s a LOT more on the way. We’ve already got a bunch of songs recorded and will go ahead and release “Wine or Whiskey” as soon as possible!

But I’m very excited about the music I’ve been writing lately. I’ve always been a fighter. And even when terrible things have happened — I’m a glass half-full kind of girl. There’s no time to dwell in the darkness. I’m so thankful for the success that I do have, but I still have a long way to go to get where I want to be.

And I’ve been a lot more honest about that in my writing lately. About fighting and not giving up. About how hard it is to have a dream and keep coming up just a bit short. About sacrifice and heartbreak. And I’m definitely not holding back on new music or my new live show.

Voice Views: Other than the friends you met and made while participating in the show and the hometown support, what do you think will stick with you about The Voice experience?

I knew being on the Voice would get me in front of a whole new audience, which I was very excited about. But the most incredible surprise has been the re-engagement of my already existing fans. I have been hearing from people that came to shows in 2006, 2008, 2010 — people that I haven’t heard from in AGES.

And The Voice gave them a way to reconnect with me. To reconnect with my journey and my music. And it has just been such an overwhelmingly positive experience. And thank goodness for social media! I have loved keeping in touch with everyone and reading all the comments.

I was also thrilled to really focus on the technical side of my voice again. I haven’t been able to truly focus on that since college. And Trelawny, the head vocal coach on the show, is such an incredible technician and teacher. She has helped me tremendously in how I approach my notes, my tone, my consonants. Things that would be tedious and boring to the non-singer, but nuances that make a HUGE difference. I really enjoyed that side of things.

Voice Views: Anything else you’d like to add about the experience or what’s next for you musically?

Natalie: I’m so thankful for the opportunity being on The Voice provided me! And I am truly excited about what’s next. I needed to shake things up a bit, and being on the show definitely achieved that for me! HA!

Here’s are Natalie’s social media links:

Instagram
Twitter: @NatalieStovall
Website
YouTube
Facebook

Natalie Stovall and Adam Cunningham review battle round strategy with Blake Shelton. (NBC Photo)