Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Mandi Thomas performs during the Top 17 show on The Voice Season 18. (NBC Photo)

Mandi Thomas was eliminated from The Voice during the Top 17 show Monday night.

Now the talented singer from Memphis, Tenn., says the next goal is original music, something she’s never released.

Mandi, 33 when she auditioned, landed a spot on Team Kelly Clarkson with a performance of “Time to Say Goodbye” by Andrea Bocelli and Sarah Brightman.

But she went country every performance after that, including a rousing version of Maren Morris’s “My Church” that launched her into the voting shows.

Pre-Voice, Mandi taught music at Visions Academy of Performing Arts and sang in an event band called Cruisin’ Heavy.

Here’s what she told Voice Views about her time on the show and her plans to release music.

Voice Views: What do you consider your biggest takeaway / lesson learned from The Voice experience?

Mandi: The biggest takeaway for me, is to just trust your talent and the process. There were so many times I was down on myself because I didn’t think I deserved to be there with so many other talented people. Turns out, I did deserve it. 🙂

Voice Views: Which was your favorite Voice performance and why?

Mandi: My favorite performance of mine was “My Church”, which was montaged and cut from the show. They did show a good part of it, but I believe that would’ve been the performance everyone would’ve loved most from me.

Voice Views: What the experience like, doing a performance from your home for the show and for national TV?

Mandi: It’s definitely a different experience. On the downside, it was sad because we didn’t get the experience we signed up for with the glam, lights, audience, and coaches … but on the good side we all learned a lot about what goes into making a quality TV show. They (producers and crew) did their best to make it a good experience for us.

Voice Views: I realize much is in limbo now because of the pandemic, but what are your post-Voice plans musically?

Mandi: My plans are to release some covers while working on my own original music. I’ve met so many wonderful people that I can’t wait to collaborate with. Stay tuned because more is coming!! Not to mention Kelly freakin’ Clarkson invited me to sing in her Vegas show!!!! … so there’s that. Smiling face with heart-shaped eyes.

Voice Views: Do you have plans to release new music? If so, what can you tell us about that? Sound? Timing? Etc?

Mandi: I’m still trying to decide what direction I want my original music to go … I’m leaning toward country, but you never know!! It may be a minute, but I’ll be releasing some other stuff in the meantime.

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

Mandi: My goal was to just have fun, and see how far I could get….I more than exceeded my expectations for myself, and met a ton of great people along the way. Blessed is an understatement.

See also …
Meet Mandi Thomas
Mandi talks about her blind audition
Mandi talks about her battle round match
Mandi talks about her knockout round match

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