Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Blind audition: Charity Bowden, 17, of Hope Hall, Ala., sang “Girl Crush” by Little Big Town and landed on Team Miley during a performance that was montaged, meaning we got to see just a few seconds of it. We did hear Miley tell Charity that her vocals were “incredible.”

Her background: According to her bio on The Voice website, Charity’s interest in music was piqued in ninth grade when she started singing in competitive pageants. She founded an annual charity event called Angels of Change for people with special needs. Charity has also played basketball and has been a cheerleader, but started suffering from chronic back and hip pain two years ago. That bio says doctors think she may have arthritis, rare for someone her age. She also helps out on her family’s farm.

What the show didn’t show:
* According to her website bio, Charity started performing as a young child in church and at school. Then stage fright set in and she wouldn’t sing in public for years. Charity told Voice Views her first bout of stage fright came when she was in second grade and was supposed to sing the national anthem at a sporting event. “I got scared and wouldn’t do it.”
* She overcame that stage fright after entering the Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen competition as a ninth-grader. “I had to have a talent and knew that it would be singing,” Charity said. “I knew the only way I would get over it (stage fright) was to do it.”
* This year, she won the talent portion of the Miss Alabama’s Outstanding Teen competition and calls it her biggest pre-Voice accomplishment. “That had been a major goal for me for three years,” Charity said. She performed “Cowboy Sweetheart.”
* Angels for Change is in its third year; the event features local musicians performing at a venue in Charity’s hometown. First year proceeds went to East Seals of Central Alabama for an autism sensory wall. Last year, the event raised money for Easter Seals’ Dogs on Call, a therapy dog program with which Charity is involved. “Because my name is Charity, I want to be able to live up to its meaning,” she said. “I want to be able to share my passion and talent to encourage and help others in need.”
* When it comes to her music, Charity describes herself as “completely a country artist. I love all music, but when it comes to singing, I’m in love with classic country. I think I’m different from most young artists because of how much I appreciate the classics. I want to be the touring country artist that brings back classic country music. Today’s country music leans more towards pop. I’m the girl with an old soul who likes to yodel and has a natural classic country twang.” You can check out some of her music on ReverbNation.
* Singing “Girl Crush” for her blind audition helped make her comfortable, Charity said, because it’s a song she knows well. “When I got on stage, I was a little bit nervous, but it was honestly one of the most incredible things I’ve ever done — just being on that stage and knowing that four of the biggest stars in music are listening to you.”
* Though we didn’t see it, two coaches turned for her — Miley and Alicia Keys. “I chose Miley because it was one of the things that my gut was just kind of telling me to go with it, even though I almost went with Alicia,” Charity said in a conference call with the media. “I really didn’t know what I was going to do, and it came out of my mouth and I was like, ‘Okay, that’s who I’m with. That’s cool.'”

Keeping up with Charity:
Twitter: @charitybowden
Facebook
Website