Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Eva Ullmann listens to feedback following her battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

Eva, 22, from Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., was matched against Ansley Burns of Easley, S.C., in a Team Blake battle.

They were asked to perform Taylor Swift’s “Wildest Dreams.” Blake said he was “really surprised by Eva.”

“She’s doing the right things; she’s got a great voice,” Blake said, after naming her the winner. “She’s ready for this and this is her moment.”

That moment will next take her to the knockout round where, for the first time ever, The Voice will pit three singers against one another. Those begin Monday night.

Meanwhile, here’s what Eva told Voice Views about the battle fans mostly missed on The Voice.

Voice Views: How did you feel about the song choice? Was it a song you’ve performed before? Did it pose any special challenge?

Eva: I was really surprised by the song choice, but also really excited! I have grown up listening to Taylor Swift for as long as I can remember and she is the artist who inspired me to write my own songs and start my path of becoming a singer-songwriter!

“Wildest Dreams” has always been one of my favorite songs of hers so I was really excited to perform it for battles. I had never performed this song for an audience — I think there’s an old instagram video of me singing it on camera before I went to her 1989 Tour in Atlanta -– but nothing besides that.

“Wildest Dreams” is a unique song because a lot of the notes flip from a lower register to a higher register and really stick in a singer’s head voice. I found myself really having to practice these transitions to make sure they were smooth and had no breaks or cracks! The song also starts off pretty low. I love singing low notes but had to work on my control to make sure my nerves didn’t affect my performance when I started off the song in such a low register.

Voice Views: Can you tell me about any advice you received during rehearsals from your coach, battle round adviser or The Voice staff that you think helped make the performance better?

More about Eva and the original music she’s already released

Eva: I received so much amazing advice but here are the main things I remember:

Blake was really surprised by how much power I had in my voice and a lot of the runs I was able to incorporate in our version of the song. He mentioned that I had great taste in where I chose to put some embellishments on the song, but to make sure I trusted myself and didn’t go overboard with riffs and runs and high notes and kept them strategically placed to improve the song.

Jimmie Allen (Blake’s battle round advisor) was also impressed by my belted notes and riffs and recommended I save a lot of my more impressive singing for the end of the song and build up to it so it showed a gradual arc throughout the song. He said to start off small and then let loose at the end which was really helpful advice for me.

Both Jimmie and Blake loved hearing the softer sides of my voice whether it was my low notes at the beginning of the song or my head voice/ softer notes in the middle. They both told me to make sure I incorporate those sides of my voice more which gave me a lot of confidence because in the past these parts of my voice were something I was a bit self-conscious of.

The Voice staff worked really hard with Ansley and I to make sure our arrangement of the song was good. They helped us figure out the best harmonies to incorporate and also helped us create space for each other in the arrangement, which was really helpful and important.

Voice Views: And can you tell me a bit more about the feedback you received from the coaches after the performance?

Eva: I was blown away by the feedback I received from the coaches after the performance! All four of the coaches couldn’t get over my low verse in the beginning of the song and were amazed that I was able to sing that low with all of the nerves and excitement happening.

Camila and Gwen shared a moment saying they could never sing that low with nerves and that they were impressed I did. Gwen and John mentioned how much they loved the softer falsetto notes I hit in my head voice and said they found that part of my voice to be really beautiful and captivating. John Legend told me that my performance was a “star quality performance” and I almost passed out.

Ansley and I did a little handshake on stage before our battle started and Camila mentioned how much she loved that and asked us to do it again. She joked that she wants a handshake written into her contract for the show.

Gwen also mentioned how much she loved my outfit and joked around saying she didn’t know if it was my outfit or my 80s dance moves, but that she couldn’t keep her eyes off of me during the performance. She laughed and said that I dance like I’m from the 80s and her husband, Blake, does, too. Blake responded by saying “Well, I am 80”. Overall the feedback was so nice and really constructive.

John and Gwen both mentioned that my higher belted notes got a little tight and that I needed to work on them, which was super helpful feedback. Blake said you could really see the difference in development and experience between Ansley and I and also mentioned how impressed he was with my performance and my low notes at the beginning too! I was on cloud nine after hearing all of that; I can’t lie.

Voice Views: What do you think turned the tide in your favor and resulted in you being named the battle round victor?

Eva: I think overall my experience and vocal control from years of practice is what won me the Battle. Ansley is an incredible singer and performer and it was an honor getting to share the stage with her. Ansley is 16 and I’m 22, so I think it came down to me having more experience in both singing and performing. I also think I showed off a lot of what my voice could do between low notes, softer high notes, belts, and riffs and I brought as much stage presence as I could to the song and the stage which really helped my chances!

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

Eva: I am just so honored that I have gotten this far on the show -– never in my wildest dreams (get it..?) did I imagine myself making it this far and I am just so proud of myself and honored to be on Blake’s team and to be continuing onto knockouts.

I also know that since they played a shorter clip of my blind audition and battle that viewers didn’t get to see much of my interviews or get to know me as well as they could’ve, but I hope they will soon. And I am always online on Instagram and TikTok if anyone wants to know more about me or ask me any questions! My username on both is @the_eva_diva – please don’t hesitate to say hi! I love hearing from y’all!