Meet Kailey Abel of The Voice Season 18

The Voice

February 19, 2020 By Mark Franklin 0

Kailey Abel, 19, of Verdigris, Oklahoma, and Team Blake Shelton on The Voice Season 18. (NBC Photo)

Her audition: Kailey Abel, 19, of Verdigris, Okla., performed “Forever Young” by Alphaville. She immediately showed off a unique tone, with a rasp a bit like Bonnie Tyler’s. An impressive glory note midway through the performance enticed Blake Shelton to turn his chair. He was clearly surprised no one else turned and told Kailey she could win the show.

Here’s more about Kailey.

* She’s a Tulsa, Okla., based singer-songwriter who also leads worship at Oral Roberts University, where she is enrolled in the music therapy program.

* Her father is a pastor and she also serves as a worship leader at her church, Verdigris Assembly of God.

* Kailey’s parents are also foster parents and have opened their home to 15 children over the past four years.

* Growing up in church, she had lots of opportunities to sing, but described her first performance as “terrible,” explaining that she grabbed the mic, pulled hard and wound up hitting herself in the face with it.

* The Voice isn’t be her first time auditioning for a singing show. From Verdigris, Okla., she previously auditioned for The Voice and made the Top 100 on Season 15 of American Idol, the show’s last year on FOX.

* And in 2017, at age 16, she made the Top 5 in a singer-songwriter competition hosted by The Guitar Center. That landed her what she called a dream-come-true opportunity to sing two of her originals at the Troubadour in Hollywood.

* About those originals: They’re featured on Kailey’s 2018 album “The Piano Sessions,” a nine-song collection that features “Strawberry Fields,” which you can check out below.

* In her Facebook bio, Kailey says she’s written more than 50 original songs and, in a recent post, says she can’t wait to share more of them.

* Here’s how she describes her artistry: “I have a voice that has been described as ‘raspy’ or ‘powerhouse,’ and I most commonly sing coffeehouse style music. I enjoy recreating well known songs and make them my own!”