Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Belle Jewel, 18, of American Fork, Utah, sang “Don’t You (Forget About Me) by Simple Minds and landed a spot on Team Alicia. Her audition was montaged, meaning viewers saw only a few seconds of it. Alicia Keys liked the 1930s swing vibe Belle put on the song. “She’s her own person; that’s the kind of team I want to build,” Alicia said.

Her background: According to her bio on The Voice website, Belle started booking acoustic gigs at coffee shops as a teenager with her mom working as her manager. By 15, she was getting paid gigs. After high school, Belle received a full scholarship to Brigham Young University where she studied psychology and music. But after one year, she decided to leave college to pursue music full time. As a teenager, she also started her own business with original designs for Henna tattoos. The Voice bio says she uses the income from that and a job as a recruiter to stay afloat while she launches a music career.

What the show didn’t show:
* On Facebook, Belle describes herself as an indie pop artist.
* In an interview with the Salt Lake Tribune, she attributes her unique musical style to her parents. “I was raised to be unique and to not be afraid to be myself,” she said. “The style I’ve developed is a combination of all the artists I grew up listening to, along with being told to just be myself and express that however I want to.”
* She told the newspaper her influences include Björk, Sara Bareilles and Gwen Stefani.
* She’s released several singles you can find on iTunes, including “Skinnybone” and “The Promise” in 2014, “Rangers,” “The Woods,” “L.O.V.E.” and “White Winter Hymnal” in 2013.
* Earlier this year, she released a dual single featuring the songs “Salt” and “As It Is.” The music video for the former was filmed in the graffiti tunnels of Florence, Italy. You can check it out below.
* During a conference call with the media, Belle described her blind audition as “probably the most fun I’ve ever had on stage. It was just so incredible to be in front of all that talent and all that wisdom and just know that they were hearing what I love to do most and that was really an incredible thing.”
* As for her audition song, Belle said “I was really glad that I was able to have a song that I could make my own and put my own twist on it. And I really couldn’t be more thrilled to be on Team Alicia. It’s a dream come true for sure.”

Keeping up with Belle:
Twitter: @bellejewelmusic
Website
Facebook
YouTube