Her audition: Jessica Crosbie, 21, of Atlanta, Ga., auditioned with a re-arrangement of Coldplay’s “Viva la Vida.” Jessica was still singing the first verse when Christina Aguilera and Pharrell Williams turned around. Adam Levine eventually joined them. Christina called her a “great singer.” Jessica opted to join Team Pharrell.
Her background: She’s a native of England and says she was in “all the choirs and musicals” while in school. She started playing guitar at age 15 and started to write her own songs “but I never thought of playing them for anybody.” Then she went to a local pub, performed and decided that she might “want to do this forever.” But she also realized her musical future might not be in England. So she moved to Atlanta, where her mother’s sister was living. She started playing in small bars. “To come to America and have this opportunity is amazing,” she told The Voice.
What the show didn’t show:
On Twitter, she calls herself a “gypsy Soul, traveling the world, singing my heart out.”
Her Voice bio provides a bit of explanation. At age 17, she traveled to Africa and worked with an organization called Camps International, working on projects that benefited various communities.
She has since traveled to 16 countries where she has built houses, taught English and performed music, of course.
In 2012, she released a 4-track pop EP called “Truth Serum.” “Roam Around Free” is a standout track. You can check out a live version below.
That Voice bio says she hasn’t booked any big gigs in the Atlanta area, had lost some confidence in her music and was looking to the show as a platform to kick start her career. Jessica elaborated in a conference call with the media. “When I moved to America from England, I had come from a really small music scene. And then I came to Atlanta and I was suddenly part of a huge music scene. And I think everybody struggles with comparing themselves and probably not feeling good enough when you’re around so many amazing people and it’s a daily struggle to just remind yourself that you are you and no one else can be you and you can’t be anybody else.”
“Viva la Vida” is a song she started performing about four years ago. She always got a good response. That’s why she decided to use it as her audition song. “I always tend to make things more the singer/songwriter vibe,” she added.
During her pre-audition interview, she mentioned the influence Maroon 5 had on her music. Yet she opted to join Team Pharrell. “I just felt a very strong connection to Pharrell,” Jessica said in the conference call. “And what he said to me about (him) never getting in the way, only to hold a mirror up to show me myself — that just completely swayed me. And I know I made the right choice.”
On iTunes: Her Voice performance and her EP from 2012.
Keeping up with Jessica:
Twitter: @_JessCrosbie
Facebook
YouTube
“Roam Around Free”
“Someone Like You”
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