Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Jessie Pitts, 18, of Birmingham, Ala., auditioned with Brandi Carlile’s “The Story,” showing off a beautiful, delicate and distinctive voice that prompted Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton to turn their chairs in a heartbeat. Blake compared her voice to a “bowl of Lucky Charms, marshmallows only.” Gwen said she sang like “an angel.” Jessie joined Team Gwen.

Her background: Jessie says she comes from a huge family. “There’s eight of us. When you come from such a large family, it’s hard to stand out. Singing in the choir was my way of being like, ‘I’m here.'” She and her siblings lived in a barn “where we shared one room, so we couldn’t help but be close.” At age 7, she suffered scarring burns to her face, but she’s since recovered and says she now has much more confidence. She attends college in Nashville and has a job at a record label “where I help other people get their music out. But I want it to be my turn.”

What the show didn’t show: While all six children in her family enjoyed entertaining on the stage her dad built in that barn, Jessie said in a local radio interview that she was the one who really bonded with her father over music and decided to pursue it seriously. A 2013 graduate of Spain Park High School, she attends Belmont University in Nashville. In her Voice video, she cites singer-songwriter Ellie Goulding as a musical influence, “We have kind of a similar tone, so I love singing her songs.” The burns she suffered as a child affected her music, but only for a while, Jessie says. “I didn’t think anyone would want to watch or listen to someone who looked like that,” she admits. “By miracle, I’m healed and I can be up on stage .. and be comfortable in my skin. It’s mostly because of my family and the support they’ve given me.” Pre-audition, she admits she thought of selecting Blake as her coach. But she says she felt an immediate connection to Gwen when the singing stopped. “I’ve been told that my voice isn’t technically correct,” she says. “Before this, I thought that might be an advantage other people have over me. She has shown me you can be successful like her and have a unique kind of voice like that.”

Update:
Blind audition: Turned a pair of chairs singing Brandi Carlile’s “The Story.”
Battle round: Lost to Team Gwen’s Ryan Sill; they performed “I Need Your Love” by Calvin Harris and Ellie Goulding. But Jessie got a reprieve when she was stolen by Blake Shelton.
Knockout round: Defeated Tanner Linford with a performance of “Your Song” by Elton John.
Live playoffs: Sang Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding Out for a Hero.” The song landed at number 60 on the iTunes singles chart and number 29 on the site’s pop chart. Jessie was Blake Shelton’s choice to advance to the finals.
Top 12: She sang Swedish House Mafia’s “Don’t You Worry Child.” The song hit number 90 on the overall iTunes chart and number 46 on the pop chart. Jessie landed in the bottom three on results night. She sang “Gravity” for her save-me song, but was eliminated.0
Wild Card: She sang “Zombie,” which landed at 196 on the iTunes singles chart. The wild card spot went to Damien.

On iTunes: Just her Voice performances song.

Keeping up with Jessie:
Twitter: @JessiePitts724
Facebook
YouTube

Pre-Voice

“Fix You” cover

“One Last Song” (cover)