Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Cory Jackson listens to the coaches’ feedback after his blind audiiton on The Voice Season 17. (NBC Photo)

Cory Jackson’s blind audition for The Voice was filmed this summer, in the very same week he was marrying his wife, Sarah.

Still, that audition went off without a hitch and Cory wound up earning three chair turns with his cover of Glen Campbell’s “Galveston.”

And then Cory did what’s become expected of country singers trying out for The Voice: He joined Team Blake Shelton.

Here’s what the 24-year-old from Jonesboro, Ark., told Voice Views about his blind audition experience.

Voice Views: How did you wind up auditioning for The Voice Season 17 and what prompted you to do it?

Cory: I wound up auditioning for The Voice Season 17 because of all the encouragement and push I had from so many of my friends and family. I had heard from all of them for a few years, “You need to audition for The Voice!” and “When are you going to audition for The Voice?” For some reason, when I found out they were coming to Nashville for open call, I felt like I needed to just go try it for fun and just to see what would happen. My wife, who was my fiancé at the time, as well as my parents, were very encouraging and excited for me to go and audition.

Voice Views: Why did you choose “”Galveston”” for your audition song? And did you think it was a big risk performing a song from 1969?

Cory: I chose “Galveston” because I am a huge Glen Campbell fan. I have been singing this song for a few years now. I started singing it in a competition I was in with WSM 650AM (the Grand Ole Opry radio station) a few years ago. Lyrically, Jimmy Webb did amazing on this song, and it gives me chills every time I hear it and even sing it. I think it’s such a beautiful song.

I knew it would be a risk taking a song from 1969, but I knew it was a classic! My main concern was keeping it as close to the original as possible yet still making it my own, and I wanted to, most importantly, do my best to make Glen’s family and Jimmy Webb proud of the way I sang their song. I thought it was also awesome to do a song by a fellow Arkansan!

Voice Views: Why did you decide to join Team Blake? Did you have a preference for a coach heading into the blind audition?

Cory: I chose Team Blake because country music is where my heart is. I am a mix of the traditional and modern country music, which I feel fits Blake to a T, making him the perfect coach for me!

Going into the blinds, I thought hard about picking Blake, but I was also told not to go up there with a coach in mind. To let the choice come from my heart if someone turned. So that’s actually what I did! Blake just felt like the perfect match for me when decision time came.

Voice Views: In spite of what I thought was a very impressive vocal, you were well into the song before anyone turned. Were you aware of that, and did it change your strategy at all as you performed?

Cory: Before I walked on stage I actually told myself to go out there, perform just like I would any other show, have fun, and enjoy the whole moment. It did seem like the song was almost over before they turned when I watched it back. I think when I was up there on stage I was so in the moment and in the song I hardly noticed them not turning till that moment. Plus, everything seemed to go by SO FAST I don’t feel like I really noticed it up on the stage. All I could do was give it all I could, and do it just like I had practiced a dozen times.

See also …
Meet Cory Jackson