Meet Jamal Corrie of The Voice Season 18

The Voice

February 13, 2020 By Mark Franklin 0

Jamal Corrie of San Francisco and Team Blake Shelton on The Voice Season 18. (NBC Photo)

His audition: Jamal Corrie, 26, of San Francisco, Calif., performed “Be Alright” by Dean Lewis. Jamal showed off nice range and stage presence in spite of his lack of on-stage performance experience. He was about halfway through the song when Blake turned. That wound up being the only chair turn, meaning Jamal automatically became a member of Team Blake. John complimented him on a lovely voice. Blake said he has a “cool tone.”

Here’s more about Jamal.

* He was born in Chicago, lives in Tampa until he was 16, then moved the California. He’s spent lots of time busking in San Francisco and, in addition to stateside, he’s performed in Hong Kong, Australia, England, Scotland, Germany, Denmark and Sweden.

* In fact, Jamal told The Voice he’s been able to support his mother, who has health problems, and his two autistic brothers through his music.

* He’s a composer as well as a singer and, on Facebook, lists his genres as: easy listening, alternative spiritual, opera, pop, classical, romantic and hip hop, rock and R&B.

* In an interview with Music in SF, Jamal said he started playing piano at age 12, envisioned himself becoming a composer of film scores at one point, but started singing and playing guitar around age 18 and soon started writing his own songs.

* Here’s how Jamal described his music in that 2018 interview: “My sound is very post-contemporary and film-score-esque. I like to mix guitar, piano, keyboard and computer effects with my voice.” He said he also performs covers, from Elvis to the Weeknd.

* Between 2017 and 2018, he released five singles available on streaming and download sites — “Is this Really Love,” “For My Daughter,” “You Are More,” “Lost Boy” and “Hazel Eyes.”

* Jamal released his debut EP, “28 Days in Hong Kong,” in September. Check out the addictive “Be the One” below.

* He explains the EP’s title this way: “This EP is a small collection of songs I wrote over the past 5 years, and produced with a team in Hong Kong, all of which took about 28 days. It is still one of the most unique and special experiences I have ever been so privileged to have in my life, and I thank everyone involved to help make this humble project a reality.”

* He also has a Christmas CD and an album of covers called “Timeless” that he sells as shows but don’t appear to be available through streaming sites.

* Though he had performed across the U.S. and abroad, he said The Voice blind audition marked his first time performing in front of an audience on a real stage.