Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Audri Bartholomew and McKenzie Thomas await the outcome of their Team Jennifer Hudson battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

MaKenzie Thomas failed to turn a chair when she auditioned for Season 14 of The Voice.

Now she’s knockout round bound on Season 15 after scoring a battle round triumph in a match with Audri Bartholomew.

The Voice showed only a tiny snippet of their Team Jennifer Hudson battle on the show. But MaKenzie talked about it with Voice Views this week.

The 20-year-old from Wallingford, Ken., said she was surprised to be paired with Audri, who was also her roommate during their time on the show.

But she said it turned out to be a blessing.

“She’s a beast of a vocalist, and she’s a performer, so being matched up with her really pushed me to give the best performance that I could possibly give,” MaKenzie said of Audri.

“Not only does she have a crazy set of pipes, but she can move on stage. And moving on stage is not something that I really am used to doing so, being paired with her really forced me to step outside my comfort zone and become more of a performer and not just a singer.”

As for the song choice — Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby” — that turned out to be right up the singers’ alley.

And don’t expect MaKenzie to contain her excitement when Mariah shows up to mentor contestants during the knockout round.

“I love that song. I am a ginormous — I don’t know if that’s a word. but I’m a ginormous Mariah Carey fan,” MaKenzie told Voice Views.

“That’s a song I play in the car probably four to five times a week to be honest. Me and Audri already knew it like the back of our hand, so it was just a matter of arranging it and getting it to sound the way we wanted. So, I couldn’t have been happier with that song.”

MaKenzie’s background also made her better prepared for the battles than contestants who had never shared the stage with another vocalist. Pre-Voice, MaKenzie performed with a gospel ensemble in college and sang with a small gospel group called Elevated Praise.

“I’ve done my fair share of duets and trios and stuff singing gospel music because lots of times a lot of those classic gospel songs that you sing are in three-part harmonies and stuff like that. So being a part of that really helped prepare me as well,” she said.

As for the feedback she got from the judges, MaKenzie said she was on too much of a “musician’s high” after a successful performance to remember too much of it.

“One moment that stood out was when Jennifer said I was a vocal beast,” MaKenzie said. “And that was like the biggest compliment ever.”

The knockout round begins Monday night on The Voice.

See also …
More about McKenzie Thomas
More about Audri Bartholomew
Looking ahead to the knockouts
Team Kelly’s Cody Ray Raymond leaves The Voice

MaKenzie Thomas and Audri Bartholomew rehearse for their Team Jennifer Hudson battle round match on The Voice. (NBC Photo)