Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Nadjah Nicole, 23, of New Castle, Del., auditioned with “Tightrope” by Janelle Monae, handling the rapid-fire lyrics in fine fashion, then soaring on the chorus. That prompted a chair turn from Adam Levine. Blake Shelton turned on a final glory note, then said Nadjah looks and sounds “like a star.” Nadjah opted to join Team Blake.

Her background: Nadjah says her dad was in the military when she was growing up. She didn’t particularly like attending military school and having to wear a uniform, but she said it led to opportunities to sing at political events. She says she enjoyed the fact that she could move people with her voice, so she started doing talent shows. At age 16, she performed at the Apollo Theater. “It was amazing. After I won, people swarmed me. It made me more aware, I could be somebody.” She went to college and started gigging more, but got pregnant, which put a pause to her musical aspirations. Her daughter is now 2. Nadjah works as a personal banker who gigs when she can and hasn’t given up on her dream of a career in music.

What the show didn’t show: Nadjah’s father was also musical director at her church, Bethel AME in Wilmington, Del., and she told Delawareonline.com that her first performance came at age 12, signing a duet with her sister in church. After that, she would perform at church events, weddings and sing the national anthem, but she didn’t get serious about original music until after that experience at the Apollo.

Here’s what she told the site about the birth of her daughter: “At first having a child was hard because I still felt like I was a baby about to raise a baby but it really turned out to be a blessing. She is definitely my little blessing and the reason why I grind so hard now. Her coming into my life made everything I was doing that much more important.”

Her website bio says her style “is rooted in gospel music and that she performs soul music with a pop and jazz twist.” During a conference call interview earlier this week, she said she was putting together her band pre-Voice but admitted she is still “just trying to find myself as an artist” and is hoping The Voice can help with that. Oh, and did you see the shocked expression on her mother’s face when she joined Team Blake? Pre-audition, Nadjah says she told her mother she was dead set on Adam or Pharrell if they turned around. So what changed her mind? “I felt like he heard my heart and everything he said told me that,” Nadjah says of Blake. “I mean, I love everything that Adam said but Blake just — it felt a little more personal. I really felt like he felt me in my performance.”

For links to more bios of Season 9 artists on The Voice, head here.

On iTunes: Just her performances on The Voice.

Update:
Battle round: Defeated Cole Criske, singing “Baby, One More Time.”
Knockout round: She lost to Emily Ann Roberts. Nadjah sang “A Woman’s Worth.”
Top 24: She performed “Inside Out” and landed at number 150 on the iTunes Top 200. She was eliminated when Barrett Baber and Zach Sebaugh were voted into the Top 12 and Emily Ann Roberts got the Team Blake save.

Keeping up with Nadjah:
Website
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter: @nadjahnicole

From My Heart to Yours

People Make the World Go Round

Blind audition — Tightrope