Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Allegra Miles performs during the battle round on The Voice Season 18. (NBC Photo)

One of the most highly praised performances on the first night of battles on Season 18 of The Voice featured Allegra Miles and Michael Williams performing “How Will I Know.”

They did such a fine job, both advanced to the knockout round. Nick Jonas declared Allegra the winner of the battle, but immediately saved Michael from elimination as well, using his only save of the round to do so.

The coaches were especially complimentary of Allegra’s vocals. Kelly Clarkson called Allegra’s tone “a finale tone.”

Here’s what Allegra, 17, from St. John in the U.S. Virgin Islands, told Voice Views about her battle round experience.

Voice Views: What do you think was the key to your success in the battle round? And how did it feel to get that incredible feedback on your vocals?

Allegra: I think the key to my success, as well as Michael’s, is that we DIDN’T treat it like a battle whatsoever. We brought joy, love, and who we are to it, and we just had fun and played off each other. I really think that if we had been trying to out-sing each other and really “battle”, it would not have had the impact that it did, and would not have been as successful for either one of us.

Throughout the entire process, we worked so well together and always challenged each other to be better individually, as well as together.There’s really no way to describe what it means to have gotten the feedback that we did. We worked so hard on our song and creating our arrangement, as well as constantly practicing and refining every little moment. It was really a labor of love, so getting great feedback on something we were so passionate about really meant everything, and I’m so grateful.

Voice Views: How did the song choice work for you? Did it pose any special challenges? Is it a song you were familiar with?

Allegra: When I first found out that Michael and I were doing a Whitney Houston song, I was bit intimidated, just because it’s Whitney. I was fairly familiar with the original song, but had never heard Sam Smith’s version. However, I’m really glad Nick chose this version, as it gave us both more space to showcase our artistry and the emotion of the song.

The night we found out our song, Michael and I immediately got in a practice room and came up with our own arrangement, based on Sam’s version. It was such a natural and collaborative process; we really clicked from the start and just kept bouncing ideas off each other. Genre/ musically-wise, it was in both our wheelhouses, luckily. The only challenges were those in which we challenged ourselves and each other to continue to make our arrangement and vocal harmonies/moments tighter.

Allegra Miles and Michael Williams prepare for their battle round match on The Voice Season 18. (NBC Photo)

Voice Views: Are you used to singing with others or performing duets? And, if so, do you think that worked to your advantage in preparing for the battle?

Allegra: Yes, I am used to singing with multiple people due to musical theater and singing groups I’ve been apart of in the past. I’ve done a good amount of duets in theater, as well as full group musical numbers. I think this experience was definitely very beneficial in preparing for the battle, as singing with others is a skill that takes practice and precision.

It’s teamwork, and it won’t work if one person is overpowering or “out singing” the other. Each person has to give their duet partner space to showcase their individual voices, which will only make it stronger when they sing together. Additionally, I think my theater experience has taught me how to authentically connect with someone on stage, and share an emotional moment together.

Voice Views: Is there anything else you’d like to add about the battle round experience?

Allegra: I feel so grateful to Nick, The Voice band, and the entire production team, for giving me and Michael the artistic freedom to create and perform our own version that really resonated with us. They really trusted us and had faith in our ability to deliver with our vision, in a way that would be special and make people feel something. It allowed us to showcase who we both are as artists and as humans, and say what we want to say, so I’m super grateful for that.

Voice Views: Obviously, you can’t talk about song choice, but is there a side of your artistry you haven’t gotten to display yet that you hope to in coming rounds?

Allegra: Once again, I feel so lucky to have been given artistic freedom in both the blinds and battles to perform my own arrangements that best represent my artistry and who I am. I definitely do feel, however, that there’s a great deal I haven’t shown that I’m looking forward to sharing. Specifically, I hope to display the more soulful/ r&b side of my voice, as well as more of my reinterpretation of songs. I’m looking forward to continuing to discover who I am, and sharing that with the world through music.

See also …
Meet Allegra Miles
Allegra Miles talks about her blind audition