Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Foushee, 28, of Harlem, New York, auditioned with “Redbone” by Childish Gambino. She earned a mid-performance chair turn from Jennifer Hudson. A brilliant high note prompted Adam Levine to turn as well. Adam complimented Foushee on her “outer space” voice. She opted to join Team Adam.

Her background: Foushee says her mother was in an all-girl reggae band in Jamaica. But moving to the U.S. was always dream. Unfortunately, her mother was badly injured in an accident, so badly injured she had to learn how to walk again. Foushee says that served as a wake-up call to pursue her dreams. Right now, she’s singing as part of a house band at Cafe Wha?, a New York venue where Jimmy Hendrix was discovered.

On picking Adam: “I really connect with Adam’s career the most and I felt like he would understand who I was as an artist creatively. I do identify as a singer, but as an artist first and songwriting is a big part of it for me. So I admire that about him and his music.”

What the show didn’t show:

* Her mother was a drummer for a Jamaican band called PEP. The band broke up before she moved to the U.S. and before Foushee was born. But Foushee told Essence.com that her mom has always valued thinking outside the box and rewarded creativity.

* In a separate interview with BloomJournal.com, Foushee says she wrote her first song at age 6. It was called “Why’d You Do It to Me.” “Yeah … It was about boys,” she added.

* She previously went by Brittany Foushee. Search that name on YouTube and you’ll find video of Foushee performing at the Apollo and performing originals in a concert for So Far Sounds.

* With her stage name shortened to Foushee, she released her a single called “By One” last December. You can check out the music video below. She followed it up with a wonderfully diverse EP “Speak Up,” which dropped in May.

* Foushee explained that EP title to Essence, saying: “‘Speak Up’ represents a milestone in my life of coming into my own and finding my voice. I was always told to ‘Speak Up’ growing up because I was such a shy, soft-spoken girl. But now I’m taking that power back and I have a lot to say.”

* She says she grew up listening to Bob Marley and has a wide range of musical influences, from Chaka Khan to Frank Ocean.

* She told Bloom Journal that she considers her music a mix of lots of different genres and influences. If she had to label her music, she said she’d call it alternative soul. “Soul can mean a lot of different things and when I sing, I sing from my soul,” she explaind. “And by ‘alternative,’ I mean, not your typical type of soul.”

On social media:
Instagram
Website
Twitter: @FousheeLive
Facebook
YouTube