Idol Chatter & Voice Views

On making the finals: “I think I’m in a very special spot because I do have this dark horse kind of story kind of where I’m coming in under the radar,” says Tess Boyer of St. Louis, a twice-stolen singer. “I want to be The Voice winner of Season 6. I think what it’s going to take is a different approach in every live performance. I don’t think America wants to see that same thing consistently from an artist.”

Her audition: Tess sang Little Mix’s “Wings” for her blind audition on The Voice. “I could see the judges kind of talking during my performance, so I was trying my best to be super involved in the song, super passionate. As soon as I hit this really, really high note, I saw Usher turn around. I was on cloud nine at that point.” Usher turned out to be the only coach to spin for her performance, but Tess hardly sounded disappointed since he was the coach she wanted and he told her he felt like he’d landed “a diamond.”

Since then: She lost to Bria Kelly in the first battle round; they sang Janis Joplin’s “Piece of My Heart.” Then Tess was stolen by Blake Shelton. She faced elimination again after the second battle round against Jake Worthington, where they performed “Have a Little Faith in Me.” This time, she was stolen by Shakira. She made the finals by singing “Human” in the Team Shakira playoffs. The song wound up being one of the most successful on iTunes the next day, cracking the Top 50 on the pop chart and hitting number 166 on the site’s overall singles chart.

Her background: The Voice showed us only a snippet of Tess’s audition, but the show’s website tells us she is a dancer and former St. Louis Rams cheerleader, is studying pre-law and works with special needs children.

What the show didn’t show: Her ReverbNation bio says she landed the lead in a touring production of “Dragon Tales” at age 10, sparking a long list of performances at churches, pageants and competitions. She was 18 and studying music in college when she won a spot on the St. Louis Rams cheerleading squad for the 2011 season. She previously sang mostly country music as Tess Hannah, but she’s also performed and written songs with her musician brother, Brooks Boyer. She now says she’s more of a pop vocalist. “So like Cher, Faith Hill, Christina Aguilera, all these huge pop ballads and that kind of sound,” she said during a conference call with the media. She also teaches hip-hop dance at Kurpinski Academy of Dance in Chesterfield, Missouri, and teaches a vocal class as well. As for the future? “I’ve been on a stage my whole entire life and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon,” she said. Oh, and there’s one moment she’s glad didn’t wind up on TV, a “fangirl, geek-out moment.” She says she pointed and winked at Usher when his chair turned. “I’m slightly embarrassed by that,” she admitted.

Quote: “I had no idea I would make it this far. I was hoping to turn just one chair at the very beginning. I was an open call so I went and waited nine hours in line just to get that one audition.”

On iTunes: Just her four songs from The Voice, but you can head to ReverbNation to hear five songs she posted when she was singing mostly country. I’ve embedded one of those originals below.

Update:
Keeping up with Tess:
Twitter: @TessHannahMusic
Facebook
YouTube

Editor’s Note: For links to profiles of all the Season 6 artists on The Voice, go here.

“One Way Road” (original)

“Make You Feel My Love”

“Sitting on the Dock of the Bay”