Terrence Cunningham turned four chairs with his blind audition and landed a spot on Season 14 of The Voice. (NBC Photo)
See also:
Terrence scores biggest blind audition hit
The Battles: Terrence on top on charts again
His background: Terrence told The Voice “music is part of my DNA;” his aunt was legendary blues performer Etta Baker. But while Terrence says he’s been singing all of his life, his music career has mostly been as a piano player, touring the world in support of other artists. He also had a daughter at age 16 and says “the focus went to her.” “I knew music would always be there,” he told The Voice. “I waited until she was 18 to muster the courage to move to L.A.” He sees The Voice as his opportunity to become “a solo artist on a grand scale.”
What the show didn’t show:
* Though based in L.A. now, Terrence spent his youth in Maryland and much of his career performing in the D.C. area.
* He grew up in a musical family. At age 3, Terrence mimicked his father by tapping out “Little Red Corvette” on piano, according to a bio on Gig Masters. And, hence, a music career was born.
* The same bio says one of Terrence’s most memorable performances was a tribute performance for comedian Dick Gregory alongside Gregory’s daughter, singer Ayanna Gregory.
* In 2017, at age 36, Terrence moved to L.A. to pursue music though he had no place to stay. For two months, he lived in hotels, essentially homeless, or crashed with friends. “I couldn’t afford to book a room more than one night at a time, so I’d stay the night, then normally go sit at a Starbucks for hours because I had no where else to go,” he writes on Facebook.
* He now calls that experience both humbling and a blessing — a blessing because of all the compassion he experienced when he was struggling to get his footing financially. “Had it not been for my family and friends I would have never been able to make it in L.A.,” he told Voice Views.
* Twice, he had to move back to D.C., but things eventually worked out in L.A. Writes Terrence in his Voice audition announcement: “I packed a few clothes and moved to LA less than two years ago, strictly on faith: no gig, no job, no place to live; nevertheless, The Lord has met my every need and then some. If you’d only dare trust Him!!”
* That arrangement of “My Girl” was Terrence’s own, and there’s an interesting story behind it. “A good friend of mine got married about a year ago and she said, ‘Hey, I want to walk down the aisle to ‘My Girl,’ but can you sing it slow?’ And I thought, ‘What?’ I said, ‘Yes I’ll make up something.’ And I ended up getting that same song for the show so it was such a blessing because I had already written it in a sense before The Voice asked me to do it.
* Terrence said he had no idea all four coaches had turned until his finish his performance because he was concentrating on that. “I’m still in shock now and it happened a couple of months ago,” he said. Editor’s Note: On The Voice, the blind auditions, battle rounds and knockout rounds are all pre-taped.
* Terrence hasn’t released music. What can fans expect when he does? “I was raised in the church. My mother was the choir director so obviously I got every solo,” he says, jokingly. So (church is) a huge influence on me. And, of course, there’s the R&B, and there’s the soul, kind of jazz aspect. So I think it’s really going to be sort of a cornucopia of themes that I’m going to try to put together to make something very special.”
* Since being in L.A., he’s also become a published author. His book, “Just In Case: Embracing The Pilgrimage To Self-Awareness” is available on Amazon.
On social media:
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Twitter: @TerrenceWins
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Etta Baker homeless Just In Case Embracing the Pilgrimage to Self-Awareness Terrence Cunningham The Voice The Voice Season 14
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9 Comments
Amazing. Woke. Talent. 🌋
Love you style and your voice is uniquely incredible! Best of luck to you and journey. God Speed!
Looks like dog poo on his head
Loose the ridiculous hair if you want people to actually listen to you.
You should learn to write properly (lose) if you’re going to criticize someone. It’s the “Voice”. Not the hair do show. He’s fantastic.
I can’t vote for a man that has what looks like dog poop on his head. He has a great voice but that poop on his head is too distracting.
Is that a toilet brush on his head?
I am obsessed with his energy and sound. Haters of the hair…really? Close your eyes and go on his journey!
Terrence Cunningham’s version of My Girl was one of the best blind Audition Song that I ever heard.Beautifil tonal qualities,impeccable vocal technique and artistry.I truly wish that he will record that song and include more songs to make an ALBUM .I want him to make A GOSPEL ALBUM OF PSALM SONGS .PSALM 85 SONGS and many other psalm songs such as Psalm 51,psalm 91,psalm 59 and more or he could collab with my highly skilled underrated artists to make a GOSPEL ALBUM.He said in his interview with MATT DAVELA GROUND UP 64 TURN DOWN THE NOISE that new music is coming I cant wait for that.i remained one of his biggest fans from New York who always pray for his success.