Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Marybeth Byrd listens to the coaches’ feedback after turning four chairs on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

She was in Nashville, working on music with a friend when he mentioned that The Voice was holding open calls locally and she should give it a shot.

“I’m like, ‘I could never do that. That’s so crazy. So many people try out,'” Marybeth recalled.

Well, she tried it. And she advanced to the point where she wound up auditioning in front of the show’s celebrity coaches in L.A.

And those coaches loved her blind audition performance of “Angel from Montgomery” so much, that every one of them turned around for it.

Now a member of Team Legend, here’s what Marybeth, 18, of Armorel, Ark., told Voice Views about her blind audition.

Voice Views: How did you wind up auditioning for The Voice Season 17 and what prompted you to do it?

Marybeth: It was actually a “spur of the moment” idea when I was working on music with my good friend, CJ Wilder, in Nashville! I auditioned to bring honor to my cousin Luke’s memory, who passed away back in 2017. I wanted to make him and my family proud!

Voice Views: Why did you choose ““Angel from Montgomery” for your audition song? Is that a song you’ve performed often?

Marybeth: I chose this song, because I can relate some of the lyrics back to my own life. I only started performing it last year, but I’ve fallen in love with it ever since!

Voice Views: Why did you decide to join Team John?

Marybeth: All of the coaches are AMAZING and extremely talented. It was an honor to be able to share my talent with them and to hear their feedback! I chose John, because the things that he said really spoke to my heart and grasped my attention. I went with my gut, and he was it!!

Voice Views: What was that blind audition like? Most people say they go in very nervous, but you had three chairs turns in a heartbeat. And still delivered a very powerful ending.

Marybeth: I was nervous at the fact that I wasn’t nervous, considering I usually am before a performance! I prayed before I went out, and as I soon as I did, all nervousness left my body. It was an awesome, life changing moment for me and I’m so glad that I soaked it all in!

Voice Views: It looks like you started performing at a young age. But what have you been doing in terms of performing recently?

Marybeth: My whole life, I’ve always just performed in church, at community events, charity events or wherever I was asked to. This is the biggest thing, musically, I’ve ever done! Before this, I just sang in my hometown and all over whenever I was asked to.

Voice Views: Have you released or are you planning to release original music, and what can you tell me about that? How would you describe your sound?

Marybeth: I’ve written songs my whole life, but I choose to wait to release them until the right time. I try to show my love and passion for music through my songs. I put my soul into it by telling a story. I would say that I’m still finding myself and discovering new things about my sound through this experience!

See also …
Meet Marybeth Byrd