Idol Chatter & Voice Views

DaNica Shirey sings Joni Mitchell’s “Help Me” during the live playoffs on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

The occasion was a street fair of sorts in Havre de Grace, Md.

“She was standing on a street. There wasn’t even a stage,” Gumke said. “But I had goosebumps listening to her. I thought, ‘People need to hear her sing.’ It was sad when she walked away from it.”

That was more than three years ago.

DaNica is back at it, of course. And people are hearing her. Millions of people.

And they’re embracing what they’re hearing. In a big way.

DaNica, now 25, was voted into Monday’s nights Top 12 on NBC’s The Voice – the Top 12 out of 48 singers talented enough to make the show’s seventh season.

Gumke, director of business services at Penn State York, met DaNica when the singer was just 13.

At the time, Gumke’s son Nathan Keyes was in a band called As 1. Gumke and her husband, Dale, managed a few artists. DaNica’s dad Joseph sought them out, looking for musical direction for the teenager.

The Gumkes helped DaNica record a demo of cover songs in their basement studio. They also wrote original music with DaNica and put her in touch with other people in the music business.

And, after her father died of cancer, Holly Gumke says she and her husband helped DaNica through a series of shows that had already been scheduled.

“Those were incredibly tough for her,” Gumke said.

Joseph Shirey had served as DaNica’s music manager, and the singer says she pretty much stepped away from performing for more than three years after his death.

Until the opportunity to perform on The Voice came along.

Though auditions are filmed months before they air, singers on the show aren’t allowed to announce they’re participating until about a week before the season premiere. But Gumke was one of the few clued in to the DaNica Shirey secret.

She was at a friend’s house for a barbecue when she got word about how well DaNica’s blind audition had gone.

“I let out a squeal,” she recalled. “I had to go around the corner of the house to finish the call. Everyone’s like, ‘What happened?’ I just said, ‘Oh, nothing.'”

And now that the fate of Voice contestants is in the hands of viewers at home, Gumke is doing her best to ensure that DaNica stays on the show.

That includes hosting a watch party at the Gumke home near York Monday night. Asked how many people she expects to attend, Holly Gumke’s answer was “lots.”

Should DaNica advance to the Top 12, a watch party is being planned for Monday, Nov. 24, at The Pullo Center. The public will be invited free of charge to help cheer for DaNica. And vote, vote, vote, of course.

In the meantime, Gunke is encouraging anyone who shows an interest to do the same.

Gumke recently attended a work function where she overheard a woman tell her husband they had to leave because she was missing The Voice.

“I turned to her and said, ‘Do you know there’s someone from York on the show?’ And she says, ‘Yes, I love DaNica. That’s why I’m going home.

“It’s really cool. People from all walks of life are embracing having someone local on the show.”

Needless to say, Gumke isn’t surprised by DaNica’s success.

“When she was 16, she was amazing. Now, there are no words to describe how good she is.

“She just had to find someone willing to showcase her voice.”