Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Allison Bray, 18, of Louisville, Ky., auditioned with Kacey Musgraves’ “Merry Go Round” and started her performance strong — so strong that she had Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton facing in her direction before she finished the first verse. Adam Levine soon joins them. Blake calls Allison’s voice “a breath of fresh air” and says she “blew him away.” That’s enough to convince this country gal to join the country coach’s team.

Her background: Allison is the first returning singer we meet in Season 7. She auditioned in Season 6, but failed to turn a chair with her performance of “Where the Boys Are.” Still, Blake invited her back, and she took his words to heart, going back home and joining a band that not only sings country, but classic rock and performs about three times a week. “To not have a chair turn around would be crushing,” she says. “I really hope I don’t have to go through that again. I want it even more than I did the first time.”

What the show didn’t show: Allison has been singing since age 4, when she performed “Genie in a Bottle” in karaoke, according to her Facebook page. She’s come a long way since then. In 2010, she was named top female vocalist among 13- to 16-year-olds by the Kentucky Country Music Association. She also placed among the top eight acts in Indiana in the Colgate Country Showdown. Most recently she’s been performing as part of a group called Bombshell Country, along with Mike Hester, Todd Howlett, Terry Robinson and Wyndell Williams. Her hometown newspaper reports that Season 7 actually marks Allison’s third try at The Voice. She first made a stab at the show at age 16, but failed to make the blind auditions. She says she seriously considered going with someone other than country coach Blake, but then remembered that he was not only the one to invite her back for Season 7, but also the first coach to turn around for her latest blind audition. “So he was the best option for me.”

Update: She defeated Fernanda Bosch in the battle round; they sang Taylor Swift’s “Sparks Fly.” Allison sang “Sin Wagon” in the knockout round, but was defeated by Taylor Brashears and eliminated from the show.

On iTunes: Just her Voice audition song, “Merry Go Round.”

Keeping up with Allison:
Twitter: @TheAllisonBray
Facebook
YouTube
Website
Bombshell Country website

“Bobby McGee” with Bombshell Cowboy

“Stay”

“Oh, Atlanta”