Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Kimberly Nichole, 32, of New York, auditioned with “Nutbush City Limits” by Ike and Tina Turner. She sounded as good as her signature tutu looked, but she was midway through the song before Blake Shelton turned around. He was later joined by Pharrell, who called Kimberly’s voice “amazing.” Kimberly decided to join Team Pharrell.

Her background: Kimberly says she’s always had an interest in music, but put that on the back-burner after high school so she could become the first college-educated member of her family. She pursued a degree in economics and worked in human resources in the fashion industry. But she knew that wasn’t her calling, so she started performing at open mic nights. She now performs at an exclusive club in New York called “The Box” and sings there five nights a week. She describes her voice as “very edgy, blues, rock and roll.” Oh, and people call her the rock ballerina because she wears custom-made tutus on stage.

What the show didn’t show: According to her Facebook bio, Kimberly is known as the Mistress of Madness at The Box. She also performs around New York with a band and has released pre-Voice music, including a 9-track album called “Yellow Brick Journey” in 2010 and a “YBR (Yellow Brick Road) Reloaded EP in 2012. She also has a four-track cover EP called Rock Ballerina available for free from Bandcamp. Music from her album has been featured on MTV, VH1, BET, Lifetime and Showtime, according to that bio. Though she’s now in New York, Kimberly was born and raised in Seattle, which she says has influenced her musical style. “What really influenced me was the music played in my home, which was soul and gospel,” she says, adding the grunge movement was really huge when she was growing up in Seattle. “That also influenced me a bit as well and led me to being more of an alternative or rock performer with a soulful voice.”

On picking Pharrell: “I’ve followed Pharrell and have been a fan of his since he first started producing on the R&B and hip-hop scene. I’ve respected his art and his dedication to music and his technique … I always feel like there’s still room for me to grow as an artist and I think he’s definitely the person who can assist me with that.”

On iTunes: Her Voice performances and the aforementioned releases.

Update: In the battle round, she was matched against Lowell Oakley. They performed “Hound Dog” by Elvis Presley. Pharrell declared Kimberly the winner. Lowell was stolen by Christina Aguilera. In the knockout round, she was pitted against Koryn Hawthorne. Kimberly performed “If You Love Somebody, Set Them Free” and was declared the winner. But Koryn advanced as well when she was stolen by Pharrell.

Live playoffs: She performed “What’s Up” and was voted into the Season 8 finals by Voice viewers. The song landed at number 29 on the iTunes’ singles chart.

Top 12: She performed “House of the Rising Sun.” The second landed at number three on iTunes overall singles chart, second best of the night. It was number two on the site’s rock chart.

Top 10: She advanced to the Top 8 on fan voting. Her version of “Something’s Got a Hold on Me” hit number 52 on iTunes, sixth best of the night’s 10 songs.

Top 8: She advanced to the Top 6 on fan voting. Her cover of “Creep” hit number 12 on iTunes, the third best of the week’s eight songs.

Top 6: She landed in the bottom two and was eliminated when the instant save went to India Carney, also of Team Christina. Her performance night songs — “Free Fallin'” and “Dirty Diana” were 101 and 127 on iTunes, making them the bottom two among 12 songs performed on Top 6 night.

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Twitter: @KimNicky

Seven Nation Army (cover)

Jump the Gun (from YBR Reloaded)

“What’s Up? (cover)