Idol Chatter & Voice Views

DaNica Shirey performed on The Voice Monday night, and a crowd of more than 100 family, friends and fans at the Pullo Center responded with a standing ovation.

The reaction wasn’t much different on the show.

By the time Shirey reached the middle of her performance of Whitney Houston’s “I Have Nothing,” coach Pharrell Williams was already on his feet.

When it ended, he said the 25-year-old singer from York just keeps “ascending” with her vocals on the show.

Blake Shelton put it more simply, saying Shirey tackled “a big job” with her song choice and “killed it.”

At the Pullo Center, where a free watch party was held in Shirey’s honor, some of those who know her best weren’t surprised by how well she sounded.

“I’ve never heard her sing that song badly,” said Holly Gumke, her former manager. “And I’ve never heard her sing it better.”

“That’s her signature song,” added her uncle, Pat Shirey, 61, of Red Lion. “When I heard that’s what she was singing tonight, I relaxed. She always kills that song.”

Now, the question is whether she impressed enough viewers across the nation to advance from the Top 10 to the show’s Top 8.

She and the other contestants will learn their fate on Tuesday night’s 8 p.m. results show. The top seven in fan voting will automatically advance to next week’s Top 8 show. The bottom three will sing again near the end of Tuesday’s show for a chance at winning an instant save; the two who don’t get the save are eliminated.

Season 7 of The Voice started with 48 contestants.

Shirey isn’t the least bit surprised by his niece’s success.

“I said for the last eight to 10 years that, if she went on American Idol, she would make the top three,” he said. “The Voice is tougher; I figured she could make the top five.

“But as we go along, I think she could win it. Especially the way the judges praise her.”

Plenty of others shared that opinion at Monday’s watch party.

Kathy Newcomer, 62, of West York, said she’s a big fan of The Voice and just had to turn out to support a local gal who’s doing well on the show.

“The whole town should be here,” she said. “She’s fabulous. DaNica is going to win.”

Robert Godfrey, 49, of York, said he was particularly impressed by DaNica’s performance of Radiohead’s “Creep” during Top 12 week.

“That was a case when she took a song and did something different with it,” he said. “She did it and she did it well.”

Add Trudi Metheny, 43, of Windsor to those who think DaNica could wind up as the Season 7 champ.

“There’s a lot of talent (on The Voice), but we’re going to keep voting for her.”

Shirey, 25, the first York County contestant on The Voice, was voted through by fans the past two weeks after singing Joni Mitchell’s “Help Me” and “Creep.”

The latter not only drew praise from coaches, but was her most successful download to date on iTunes, hitting number 59 on the site’s overall chart and number 30 on the iTunes pop chart.

Asked about her chance of continued success late last week, Shirey pointed out how talented the show’s other singers are.

“I know I have a lot of love and support at home,” she said, “but the competition is so stiff. Every single person here, I’m literally a fan of;
I’ve downloaded their music. If I had to pick, I’d have no clue.”

But in Season 7 of The Voice, even the eliminated will get to come back and sing one last time for a wild card spot in the finale. That’s a new wrinkle, just announced last week.

“I think that’s awesome,” Shirey said. “If we go home, it’s definitely not the end for us. We at least get to come back one more time and sing for our lives.”

Voting for the Top 10 show continues through noon Tuesday.