Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Selkii, 31, of Orlando, Fla., auditioned with “I’ll Try” by Macy Gray. Her strong opening prompted Adam Levine to turn almost immediately. Selkii’s powerful vocal eventually coaxed a chair turn from Blake Shelton as well. Blake called her “the complete package” and said he’d love to open for her someday in her hometown of Durban, South Africa. Selkii joined Team Blake.

About Selkii

* She describes herself as a soulful indie folk pop artist. With the help of a loop pedal, she classifies herself as a one-woman band who has practiced that skill through her job.

* Until recently, that job was entertaining guests as a solo lounge act on Disney’s Fantasy/Wonder Cruise ships and Disney’s Castaway Cay Island. Selkii told Voice Views she performed on the cruise line from 2013 until right before auditioning for The Voice.

* “It was my dream job,” she said. “It allowed me to see the world and develop my craft because I would perform 3-4 hours a day 6 nights a week and was constantly learning new genres and ways to perform songs, and what people liked.”

* As we heard on the show, she also met her husband, Edge, through her job. He was a juggling comedian on the ship.

* Selkii said she’s released an album and an EP, but doesn’t promote it because of complications with the label. She’s planning a live album “that showcases who I am in an authentic way.” She added that she sometimes calls her originals “trop folk because so much of my original material mentions the ocean.”

* In the meantime, Selkii has lots of acoustic covers you can check out on her Soundcloud page, tackling songs by artists as diverse as John Denver, Bryan Adams and Pink Floyd. There are also some originals there; “Good Times” is especially impressive.

* According to her bio on Houla Entertainment, she has a repertoire of over 1,500 songs and was a finalist on a show called Idols, South Africa’s version of American Idol.

* On Facebook Selkii informs us that her stage name is a play on ‘Selkie’ (like the seal women in Irish/Scots mythology) combined with ‘Kii’ (which is Japanese for strange and wonderful).

* As for her audition song: “I am a big fan of Macy Gray and love this song because it’s fun and honest. She expresses her need and vulnerability, but in a playful way, which is what I wanted to show. It has an awesome melody and a bit of 90s pop nostalgia, which I love. I’m a ’90s girl. I really love the ’90s tunes Nostalgia is a power element in music because it can transport us.”

* And, on choosing Team Blake, here’s what Selkii told Voice Views: “Blake really won me with his pitch about wanting to see South Africa. As a proud South African I could never pass at an opportunity to take a superstar to my beautiful home country. 🙂 He is a wonderful genuine person — as is Adam — but I had a strong gut feeling he was the coach for me!”

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