Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Toia Jones, 29, of Montgomery, Ala., auditioned with Adele’s “One and Only.” She immediately displayed a big, powerful, soulful voice during a performance that kept getting stronger. Somehow, Pharrell Williams and Adam Levine were the only coaches to turn around. Pharrell complimented Toia for singing from “her heart.” And she decided to join Team Pharrell.

Her background: Toia tells us she grew up singing in the church choir, starting when she was 7 years old. “I never really missed a Sunday. If you got sick, my mom would say, ‘You’ll be OK; Jesus will heal you.'” Her dad owned a lounge and the blues and old school music played there definitely influenced her, Toia says. He died when Toia was 16. Eventually, Toia moved back in with her mom and continued to try to pursue music. Then she met her boyfriend, a keyboard player. They formed a band that covers songs ranging from pop, country to rap and performs at casinos and clubs.

What the show didn’t show: The church she got her start in was Bryant Missionary Baptist Church. And, according to her Facebook bio, she wrote and recorded her first song — “When I Grow Up” — at age 12. A year later, that bio says an industry rep in Atlanta, Ga., wanted to sign Toia, but her mother insisted she get an education first. In her Voice video, she says she wound up working in a hospital before quitting to devote herself to music. “Back home, I am literally a struggling, strained, thriving, hungry artist,” she says. That band she’s been performing in with fiance Marius Chasen is called LyriQ. She released a dance single called “Do What You Do” in 2011 (check it out below) and a ballad called “Tonight I Wanna Cry” last year. Oh, and The Voice isn’t her first stab at a televised singing competition. She told the Montgomery Advertiser that she tried out for American Idol twice but was told her voice was “too powerful.” “If I had listened to that, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” she told the newspaper.

Update: Toia lost her battle round match to DaNica Shirey; they performed Beyonce’s “Halo.” So well that Toia was stolen by Adam Levine. But she was eliminated in the knockout round when she was matched up with Damien Lawson. Toia sang Beyonce’s “Crazy in Love.”

On iTunes: Her audition song and the two aforementioned singles. Snoop around YouTube and you’ll find video of her performing with LyriQ.

Keeping up with Toia:
Twitter: @JonesToia
Facebook
YouTube
Website

“I Will Always Love You” (cover)

“Clean Up Woman” / “No Pain, No Gain” (covers)

“Do What You Do” (2011 single)