Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Kristen Brown, 24, of Roseville, Calif., performed “Blown Away” by Carrie Underwood. Her opening enticed an almost immediate chair turn from Gwen Stefani. Reba McEntire soon followed. Kristen showed especially nice stage presence. Reba said she was very taken with Kristen’s performance and loved her enthusiasm. Gwen called Kristen a diamond in the rough. Kristen decided to join Team Gwen.

Here’s more about Kristen:

* Her father Kent is a professional bass fisherman who raised her on the music of Merle Haggard, Willie Nelson and Loretta Lynn.

* The affection for country music stuck and at age 13, Kristen joined a pop-country trio called Auburn Road with two friends she’d been singing with since age 8.

* Auburn Road released an album in 2016 and followed that up with at least two singles. The group’s music is still available on streaming sites.

* Auburn Road also opened for Toby Keith, Morgan Wallen and Rascal Flatts, but Kristen decided to go solo in 2021.

* She’s since released a single called “Christmas Spirit” in memory of her late aunt. The music video for the song, which you can check out below, has more than 94,000 views on YouTube.

* In an interview with radio station 105.1 KNCI, Kristen said she auditioned for Season 23 of The Voice, but it didn’t work out.

* When she saw that there was an open call for Season 24 on her 24th birthday, she decided to try again, performing “Stand By Your Man.” This time, she landed a chance to participate in the blinds.

* But how did the country artist wind up chosing Gwen over Reba? Kristen explained that in the radio interview as well.

* “I felt this connection to Gwen,” Kristen said. “They ended up cutting a lot of what she said. She pitched me for another five minutes. I just felt this pull to her.”

* And, there was a bit of strategy involved, Kristen added. “In battles, you go against your own team. And I thought, I could be the country girl of Gwen’s team or I could be one of the country girls on Reba’s team.”

* She describes her music as country with an edge and writes and produces her own music.

Kristen on social media:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube