Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jamal Corrie of San Francisco during his blind audition on The Voice Season 18 (NBC Photo)

And it was his turn to audition. With a song with which he wasn’t all that familiar.

But thanks to a strong ending on his performance of “Be Alright” by Dean Lewis, Jamal coaxed a chair turn from Blake Shelton.

And that’s all the 26-year-old from San Francisco needed to secure a spot on Season 18.

Here’s what Jamal told Voice Views about his blind audition experience on The Voice.

Voice Views: How did you wind up auditioning for The Voice Season 18 and what prompted you to do it? Had you ever tried a show like this in the past?

Jamal: I was in Italy at the time. I had woken up and the first thought on my mind was “I need to audition for The Voice”. I had set up an audition for The Voice last year but didn’t show up, fearing I wasn’t good enough yet. Two days after setting up an audition with The Voice for this season I started to doubt my ability to do well. But then I ran into someone randomly in a small town in Italy who had made it to second place on The Voice of Italy. They were highly supportive and encouraged me to do it, so I pushed through. I’m really glad I did.

Voice Views: Why did you choose “Be Alright” for your audition song? What’s your performance history with that song (for instance, is it one you’ve played often)?

Jamal: I had requested many songs which I would have preferred over “Be Alright,” but I put “Be Alright” in the list because it seemed like something I could do well, related to me and my story, and was relatively popular enough for others to know. I had actually never sung the song before my audition. I later found it to be very difficult for me to sing, and spent days struggling with it. I love “Be Alright,” but it was definitely not alright for me when singing the song lol. If anyone chooses to audition for The Voice, choose your songs CAREFULLY.

Voice Views: Did you have a coaching preference heading into the blind audition? And how do you feel about landing on Team Blake?

Jamal: I didn’t have much of a preference. But after getting coached by Blake and learning more about Blake’s music and knowledge in performing, I honestly couldn’t have been happier.

Voice Views: And what was that blind audition experience like? Especially since you said that was really one of the first time you’ve performed on a stage in front of an audience?

Jamal: Nerve-racking for sure. I was not confident about my song choice, and I had just witnessed a friend of mine fail during the auditions. I felt like Maximus from Gladiator. But once I hit the stage I remember a moment of transcendent confidence flowing through like I had never had before. I felt lifted on that stage. Then as soon as I started singing I started to stumble lol. But towards the end my confidence and my connection with the audience grew. Since we only get about 90 seconds per audition, every second counts, and thankfully for the last 30 seconds of my audition I sang the song well enough for Blake to make his move, which forever changed my life.

For more on Jamal, info about the music he’s already released and his social media links, head here.