Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Abby Cates, 17, of Cincinnati, Ohio, auditioned with “Scars to Your Beautiful” by Alessia Cara. Pre-audition, Abby said she was hoping Kelly Clarkson would turn for her. And she did, pretty early in the performance. But she wound up being the only chair turn, which surprised Kelly, who said Abby reminded her of Tori Kelly.

Her background: She’s a character actress at birthday parties for little girls. And she feels lucky to be able to walk onto The Voice stage. She was thrown while horseback riding and broke three vertebrae in her back. She says music helped her get through her recovery. And now that she has recovered, Abby says she’s eager to get on with her music career. The Voice is the biggest thing she’s done to date.

On joining Team Kelly: “Even if all of the chairs had turned around, I probably would still pick Kelly because I just think she has been one of my idols in life and music. I listened to her music when I was in elementary school. And after she won Idol, I’ve always loved her. And I think she’s just such an amazing person. She seems to be a very down to earth and grounded person and I love how she is as a coach. She’s very, encouraging and I really like that about her. It’s a really good match.”

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* Abby’s Voice bio says she started choir in kidnergarten. In a conference call with the media, she said she started musical theater in second grade. The music director, Becky Barrtt-Jones later because her vocal coach and one of her chaperones during her time on The Voice. Abby called her “a really big inspiration for me musically.”

* She’s been posting cover songs on Instagram regularly since December 2014 and now has more than 180,000 followers. She told Voice Views she started posting in eighth grade “to entertain myself” because she’d moved to a new place and her account blossomed prior to her freshman year in high school. “It’s kind of a mystery to me. I’m so thankful that it’s grown so much,” she said.

* The covers on her YouTube channel date back three years and she’s had more than a half million views on those videos.

* Among the videos you’ll find there is one of a yery young Abby singing the national anthem at a Dayton (Ohio) Dragons baseball game six years ago.

* She’s been involved in a number of musical theater productions at the Cincinnati Hills Christian Academy, including playing the lead in “The Sound of Music” and a starring role in “Fiddler on the Roof.”

* Part of her experience at performing for crowds comes from leading worship on a regular basis at her high school of 500 students.

* Abby describes her musical style this way: “I would definitely say it’s definitely pop music, but with a lot of soul, R&B influences. I wouldn’t say that I’m 100 percent pop. I kind of like to have a little bit more of a soulful vibe with it and then also I kind of like to provide some alternative in there too.”

Her social media links:
Instagram
Twitter
YouTube