Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Kennedy Holmes and Lela perform during their Team Jennifer Hudson battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

She’s just 13 years old, but Kennedy Holmes was one of four singers to turn four chairs during the Season 15 blind auditions on The Voice.

She prevailed in her Team Jennifer Hudson battle round match as well, though the show aired just a tiny snippet of her performance.

Kennedy was matched with another young female singer, Lela, a charismatic 15-year-old from Miami whose real name is Pamela Restrepo.

And Kennedy told Voice Views they made for a good duo as they tackled the Jordin Sparks’ hit “Battlefield.”

“We worked extremely hard, in the morning, at night practicing our song,” the teenager from the St. Louis area said. “I really wish people would have been able to see it because, in the beginning, we also had a little bit of choreography to go with it because it’s kind of a rhythmic type of song.

“Working with Lela was amazing because we were really good friends before. Just to be able to work with somebody that isn’t afraid to tell you, ‘Wow, maybe we can do this?’ You might not agree on everything but, at some point, you work it out and you guys agree and have a great time working it out.”

Kennedy said the mentoring sessions — especially the one with Jennifer and her guest adviser Halsey — were beneficial. And that was particularly true since “Battlefield” was released when she was 4 of 5 years old, and she’d only heard the song once.

Halsey, Kennedy said, provided a great tip for how to relate to the song.

“When Lela and I were practicing, Halsey and Jennifer were telling us to make sure that you tell the story,” she recalled. “Halsey actually brought up how you’re in a competition, and it’s a battlefield. It’s not easy. So link that to the song and it will help.”

Kennedy said it also helped that Jennifer and Halsey kept encouraging them to cut loose vocally since she and Lela “might have been a little bit nervous because we were singing in front of Jennifer Hudson and Halsey. That’s not something you do every day.”

When the battle ended, Jennifer indicated she picked Kennedy to advance because she felt the 13-year-old was the most prepared for the challenges ahead.

Kennedy said she was thrilled that her hard work paid off.

“I know what I did, and I know that it wasn’t that easy,” she said. “Because having to learn a song and trying to make it your best and not having a long time to perform … I know I put a lot of effort into it and I spent a lot of time working on it. Sitting outside, listening to the song over and over again, sort of teaching myself and saying, ‘Oh, this part didn’t start so strong so maybe I should fix this.’ I’m happy that Jennifer saw it.”

If she has a regret about the battle round, it’s that one of the other coaches didn’t steal Lela.

“She’s extremely talented. And after Jennifer picked me, I told Lela, as I was hugging her, I told her that, ‘Don’t stop dreaming.’ She’s amazing and I just felt extremely good about the performance.”

See also …
More about Kennedy Holmes
More about Lela (Paula Restrepo)
Looking ahead to the knockouts
Team Kelly’s Cody Ray Raymond leaves The Voice

Kennedy Holmes and Lela rehearse for their battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)