Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: The artist: Payge Turner, 27, of Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, performed “Call Out My Name” by The Weeknd. She got an early chair turn from Blake, who kept motioning for the other coaches not to turn. Gwen ignored him and turned anyway. Gwen called her voice “beautiful” and praised her control. Payge opted to join Team Gwen.

Here’s more about Payge:

* She grew up in Trinidad and Tobago, moved to the Kansas City area when she was 13 and is now a Seattle-based artist.

* In an interview with DansTunesSeattle.com, she says she was raised in music; her mother was a choral director.

* In the same interview, she says a 2018 backtracking trip to the Forks (in Washington State) convinced her to move to the area. She says she already knew Seattle had a thriving music scene.

* She describes her music as “combining raw and lyrical content with soul/alternative/progressive vibes.

* Her major influences: Sade (whom she grew up listening to), Hiatus Kaiyote, Lianne La Havas, and RY X.

* Between 2016 and 2019, Payge released four singles, beginning with “Beautifully Flawed” and ending with “Wyld.”

* She released her four-song debut EP “Sleep Walker” in June. It includes the single “Matter.” You can check out the music video for that song below.

* In her Spotify bio, she promises that her live performances “are something you’ll never forget; you’ll leave more emotional and sweaty than when you came in.”

* Here’s how Payge describes her goal in music in that June interview: “My goal as a singer-songwriter is to make sure my voice is heard clearly, and also to inspire people who have been in similar situations as I have: coming from broken homes, immigrants, and people that come from a Christian realm. I still claim God; I just don’t claim Christianity. People that are struggling with that in-between of, ‘Okay, is it acceptable to be queer and love God at the same time?’ That’s a huge struggle for me, as well. So just to be a voice of reason, because musicians have a job, and our job is not self-gain — it’s self-emptying. You’re putting yourself in a vulnerable position, and your job is to educate a population.

Payge on social media:
Website
Instagram
Twitter
Facebook
YouTube