Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Grace Askew, 26, of Memphis, Tenn., sang “These Boots Are Made for Walking.” Blake Shelton turned around a couple of lines into the song, followed quickly by Shakira. Grace picked Team Blake.

Battle Round: Defeated Trevor Davis on their rendition of “Me and Bobby McGee.”

Knockout round: She sang “I Can’t Stand the Rain,” but lost to the Swon Brothers, who performed “Drift Away.”

Her background: A native of Memphis, Grace told The Voice she hit the road as a musician at age 22 and has since toured in 40 states. She calls her music “blun-try,” meaning a combination of blues and country. As for her decision to try out for the show: “After all these years, I’ve reached a plateau in my career. I can only take it so far. It’s time to bring the big guns in.”

Her choice of coach: “I’m hoping to go on the road with Blake,” she said in a post-audition interview. “That’s what I would love. I want to just travel, travel, travel. And I just hope he can help me become the best performer I can be and gain as much poise and confidence as I possibly can have.

What the show didn’t show: According to her Facebook bio, Grace learned guitar at 13 and soon began writing music. She started performing publicly around age 17, playing everywhere from churches to skating rinks. She spent a year in New Orleans, hence her music has some jazz influence as well. And she’s already released a good deal of music, EPs in 2008 and 2009 and albums in 2010 and 2011. Two songs from her latest album, “Grace Askew and the Black Market Goods” are embedded below. Head to her YouTube channels and you’ll find a host of covers and originals. Her version of Bruce Springsteen’s “I’m On Fire” demonstrates her knack for putting her own twist on classic tunes. Oh, and she normally hasn’t gone with a Loretta Lynn hairstyle.

Quote: “I think I stand out enough to get far on the show. I would love to win. We’ll see.”

On iTunes: Her audition song, “These Boots Are Made for Walking” plus a 2011 album as Grace Askew & The Black Market Goods, a 2009 EP (“Hawthorne”) and a 2010 album (“Until They Lay Me Down to Rest”)

Keeping up with Grace:
Twitter: @GraceAskew
Facebook
YouTube channel
Website

“Jupe” (from 2011 album from Grace Askew and The Black Market Goods)

“Howl” (from 2011 album from Grace Askew and The Black Market Goods)