Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Brooke Stephenson, 28, of Bolton, Connecticut, performed “Let Him Fly,” by The Dixie Chicks / Patty Griffin. She delivered a nice blend of soul and country and a displayed a really nice ache in her voice. And that combination prompted chair turns from Kelly Clarkson, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton. Kelly complimented her on a beautiful voice. Gwen said her singer-songwriter vibe was obvious. Blake loved the emotional connection she was able to make. Brooke opted to join Team Kelly.

Here’s more about Brooke.

* She told The Voice her hometown is so small, it doesn’t even have its own grocery store. In fact, there were only 66 students in Brooke’s graduating class.

* Brooke became enamored with music at a young age and devoted lots of time singing and participating in choir, according to her bio on The Voice website.

* She attended the Berklee College of Music where she managed and performed with the renown a cappella group Pitch Slapped. Brooke was also chosen to sing at her college graduation.

* At Berklee, she majored in music business. “I wanted to be a strong businesswoman in the music industry,” she told The Voice.

* She landed a job as a sales coordinator, but missed performing. “There were so many meetings,” she said. “I thought, ‘I could be out making music right now. Why am I here?'”

* “I wasn’t singing or songwriting nearly as much as I had planned to when I accepted that job,” Brooke told Voice Views. “I was singing here and there, background vocals and some studio work, but I’d be too tired after work or on the weekends to really focus on it. And I started to not feel myself anymore.”

* She wound up quitting that job last year to pursue music, something she admits isn’t easy in L.A. She’s had lots of side jobs too, including being a nanny, dog sitting and house sitting. She said she sees The Voice as the start of her “next chapter.”

* Brooke told the coaches she considers herself an Americana singer, and her videos on YouTube include covers of songs by Bonnie Raitt, Willie Nelson, Bob Dylan and Brandi Carlile. There’s also one original there, “The Medicine,” which Brooke wrote and which you can check out below.

* Original music is coming from Brooke. “I have an EP in the works of all my original music that will be released soon,” she told Voice Views. “It has a lot of country/folk meets soul, blues and rock, or as some would say Americana. It’s produced by John Spiker, with a lot of incredible local players that took the time to play on it. John is helping me make the album as magical as I was hoping it’d be. I’m super excited to show it to the world.”

See also …
Brooke Stephenson talks about her blind audition on The Voice

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