Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Levi Watkins, 14, of Birmingham, Ala., performs during his blind audition on The Voice Season 18. (NBC Photo)

He’d turned his chair for a ukulele-accompanied version of “Hey Soul Sister” on The Voice Season 18.

But he didn’t let on that he was facing a very young male singer on a show where young talent has been received very well until it was too late for his fellow coaches to turn.

Then he leaped out of his chair and did a fist pump at his good fortune in landing Levi Watkins for Team Blake.

Here’s what 14-year-old Levi, from Birmingham, Ala., told Voice Views about his blind audition experience.

Voice Views: How did you wind up auditioning for The Voice Season 18 and what prompted you to do it at such a young age?

Levi: My dad encouraged me to audition for The Voice and I submitted a video I made with some friends online. They emailed me back about 6 weeks later and invited me to come to Atlanta for a callback. I’ve been playing and singing most of my life, but I have recently started writing a lot of music. This felt like a good time to begin trying to learn more about what the music industry was like.

Voice Views: Why did you choose “Hey, Soul Sister” for your audition song? What’s your performance history with that song (for instance, is it one you’ve played often)?

Levi: In my previous auditions I had sung similar songs to Hey Soul Sister, but I had never done it prior to singing it on the show. I like how the intro begins with a simple vocal and ukelele and then gets more upbeat. I changed it up a little because I have been wanting to learn to play the mandolin, which sounds similar to the ukelele. So, I learned it for this song and it was a lot of fun.

Voice Views: Did you have a coaching preference heading into the blind audition? And how do you feel about landing on Team Blake where, so far, it looks like you’ll be going up against some very, very experienced singers?

Levi: Blake and Nick were my top two choices going into my blind audition. I’m so happy to be on Team Blake.

Voice Views: What was that blind audition experience like? You received absolutely amazing feedback from all of the coaches.

Levi: I’m amazed at all of the feedback, it was really humbling. It was really kind of a blur. After Blake turned his chair, I don’t really remember what happened. Then, after he came up on stage and everyone was talking to me I kind of froze. I think my nervousness finally caught up with me.

for more on Levi, head here.