Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Brooke Stephenson interacts with the coaches following her blind audition on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

And after graduation, she landed a sales coordinator position at Universal Music Enterprises in L.A.

But she found that the job was detracting from her main passion — making music and performing — so she quit.

All of which led her to The Voice stage and a pretty magical blind audition.

Brooke wound up turning three chairs with her rendition of Patty Griffin’s “Let Him Fly” and landed a spot on Team Kelly Clarkson for Season 17.

Here’s what Brooke told Voice Views about her blind audition experience.

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

Brooke: The casting department actually reached out to me on Instagram and asked me if I’d like to do the audition with the producers. In 2014, my college graduation present from my uncle was to fly to Washington D.C. and do the open call audition. I didn’t make it to the next round that year, so when I got the opportunity to go straight to the producers, it seemed like an ideal situation.

I was looking for new singing opportunities anyway, since I had quit my desk job to sing, so this seemed like perfect timing. It also just seemed like a great experience, even if I didn’t get through to the next round again. But I just kept getting through, so the experience just kept getting better.

Voice Views: Why did you choose “Let Him Fly” for your audition song? Is that a song you’ve performed often?

Brooke: “Let Him Fly” has always been one of my favorite songs of all time. I still remember where I was when I first heard it. It stopped me in my tracks by how it hits you straight in the heart. After discovering it, I became obsessed with Patty Griffin and her songwriting. She is definitely one of my idols now.

I have sang this song 1,000 times it feels like, so while I was trying to perform, all I could think was “please! all I need is one chair turn!” and then “omg! 3 chairs!!”. At that point the song came through muscle memory basically.

Voice Views: Why did you decide to join Team Kelly?

Brooke: I’ve been getting asked if picking Team Kelly Clarkson was spontaneous, but it wasn’t. I have great respect for Gwen and Blake’s teams, but I was set on either John or Kelly’s team. Since John didn’t turn, I knew Kelly would be my pick. She is a powerhouse and I truly believe she is one of the best vocalists of our time. She is also not afraid to be her true self, which is sometimes difficult in this industry, especially for a woman. I knew that I could learn an incredible amount from her.

Voice Views: Can you tell me a bit more about what you’d been doing musically since leaving the sales coordinator position?

Brooke: Since leaving the sales coordinator position, I’ve been singing as much as I can. I’ve sang at a LA Sparks game in May, was lucky enough to sing the chorus of the song “I Found You” by Andy Grammar, I’ve sang at events around California and I sing for other music companies. I’m also finishing up my album that I hope to release before the New Year!

See also …
More about Brooke Stephenson and her music