Idol Chatter & Voice Views

On making the finals: “Lives add an entirely new element of excitement,” says Dani Mox of Delmar, N.Y. “Plus it’s a game changer. You have to step up each performance, knowing the vote lies solely in the hands of America. You’ve got to put your best foot forward. No more relying on your coach connection or what happen behind scenes at rehearsal. It’s what happens on that stage. It’s nerve-wracking, but it’s exciting.”

Her audition: Dani performed “I Need Your Love” for her blind audition. The original, by Calvin Harris, is “a very upbeat, dance, electronic song,” she said, but she decided to “slow it down and make it this really dope, R&B pop jam.” The end result: She landed a spot on Team Shakira.

Since then: She defeated DeShawn Washington in the first battle round; they sang Emeli Sande’s “My Kind of Love.” In the second battle round, she was pitted against Clarissa Serna, who turned four chairs in the blind auditions. They sang Pink’s “Perfect” and Dani was declared the winner. She made the finals by performing “Edge of Glory” in the Team Shakira playoffs. The song was one of the best performing from the playoffs on iTunes, htiting 152 overall and cracking the Top 50 on the site’s pop chart.

Her background: The Voice aired just a small snippet of her audition, but the show’s website says Dani focused on musical theater at one point, earned a communications degree in Boston and, for three years, worked at a public relations office during the day and sang at night. The site says she recently moved to L.A. to focus on music.

What the show didn’t show: Dani describes herself as “a pop singer with a lot of soul and sass.” She released an eight-track EP called “Untamed” in 2010 and was working on a second album when the opportunity to compete on The Voice came up. She started playing piano at age 7 and it’s “the driving force” of her songwriting, according to her website bio. While living in Boston, she also spent years as the lead singer for a cover band called Hot Mess, that bio indicates. In 2007, she earned the title of “Albany Idol.” She names Michael Jackson and Mariah Carey as two of her biggest musical influences and calls herself a “power vocalist, songwriting ninja, ivory tickler and lover of life” on Twitter.

Quote: “There are front-runners. There are people who have this crazy fan base already. Being an underdog in the show, does give me an advantage, when it comes to the live performances. I’ll really open people’s eyes up, to ‘Oh, this girl. Dani Moz. Maybe we didn’t see her coming, but here she is.'”

On iTunes: Her four songs from The Voice, plus that 2010 EP. You can hear full-length versions of the songs from the EP on Dani’s ReverbNation page.

Keeping up with Dani:
On Twitter: @DaniMozMusic
Facebook
YouTube
Website

Editor’s Note: For links to profiles of all the Season 6 artists on The Voice, go here. And check back for live blogging during every episode of Season 6.

“Save the World” (Swedish House Mafia cover)

“Flawless” (original from the “Untamed” EP)

“We Are Young (fun. cover)