Idol Chatter & Voice Views

One of the biggest ovations at Craig Wayne Boyd’s Thursday night concert at the Pullo Center came when the Season 7 winner of The Voice was joined on stage by York’s own DaNica Shirey.

The two became friends during their stints on the show, and Craig announced a week ago that he planned to have DaNica sing with him as a special treat for local fans who helped her to a Top 8 finish in Season 7.

Fans probably expected her to make her appearance when Craig launched into a spirited version of “Keep Your Hands to Yourself.” After all, that’s a song DaNica sang with Craig and two other contestants during the Season 7 finale.

Instead, she showed up a few minutes later to duet with him on ZZ Top‘s “Tush.”

“We didn’t rehearse at all,” DaNica admitted after the show. “He called me up today and we’re like, ‘OK, what are we going to do?’”

They decided to forgo a reprise of “Keep Your Hands to Yourself” to keep fans guessing.

The lack of rehearsal time showed when there was some initial confusion over who would sing what line when DaNica joined in.

But that was quickly resolved, and the two began swapping lines back and forth in what turned into one of the most crowd-pleasing performances of the night as DaNica showed off the power and range that made her a Season 7 fan favorite.

They were also joined on stage by Jimi Milligan of The Big House Band in Philadelphia. He provided a sax solo for the song. DaNica and Craig met him when he also auditioned for Season 7, but failed to turn a chair during the blind auditions.

Since The Voice, DaNica said she’s been singing with a wedding band in the Philly area. She also recently performed a solo show in Long Island.

She adds that “some pretty cool plans are in the mix.” That’s because she’s traveled to Miami on a couple of occasions to work with Pharrell Williams, her coach on The Voice.

DaNica said she can’t divulge much now in terms of details, but calls that “a different project.”

“Hopefully, within the next year, we’ll have something to release,” she said, adding that by “something” she means an album or “at least a single.”

As for Thursday’s reunion with Craig, she called it “awesome.”

“It’s always great to be on that stage,” she added.