Is Season 10 going to be the year that a female coach finally wins The Voice? It looks as if it actually may happen with Christina Aguilera having put together quite the team: Alisan Porter, who received a four-chair turn during her Blind Audition; soulful Bryan Bautista, who wowed the audience last week with his performance of Seal‘s “Kiss From a Rose,” and charmer Nick Hagelin, who joined Team Christina as her Comeback Artist and America voted him through to the Top 12.
Alisan, who is considered this season’s female frontrunner, is modest when asked about her status as the one to beat. She says, “The second you have done the best performance of your life, someone like Adam Wakefield, Mary Sarah or Hannah Huston goes on stage, and you’re like, ‘I quit.’ No matter how good you’ve done or how amazing you are, every single person is just bringing it.”
Bryan, who has been on Team Christina since the Blind Auditions, feels that the competition has moved past the point where which team you are on matters. He says, “I just feel that there are four coaches. Once you get to the Top 12, everyone has to put their best foot forward and everyone has to show up. Team Christina is great, but now I consider us a whole group.”
And Nick, who already knows what it’s like to be sent home, just feels honored to be a member of this potentially winning team. He says, “These are two such amazing powerful singers, so to be part of such a powerful, amazing team next to these amazing vocalists, it is very humbling for me. So I don’t let anything go to my head in this process. I can hardly believe I am here.”
Tonight, the Top 11 will compete to see who moves forward to the Top 10 as America continues to vote for their favorites.
But first, here is more of the interview with Alisan, Bryan and Nick talking about last week’s performances, singing on live TV, song choice and what lies ahead for them.
How do you feel about the coaches comments on last week’s performance?
Nick Hagelin/”Mine Would Be You”: I am just glad that Blake [Shelton] liked my song because it was his song. It was such a huge song for him, so he seemed to appreciate my version. He made a nice joke about how people will be requesting that at his show, so that made me feel real good. Christina has been such a wonderful coach and she continues to pour out love and support in what she says to me in coaching and afterward, so I felt really good.
Alisan Porter/”Stone Cold”: They were amazingly wonderful and said some really beautiful things to me. Christina said she was excited for my album, and I am, too. That was awesome, so I will leave it at that.
Bryan Bautista/”Kiss From a Rose”: I picked the song because I wanted to go back and cover one of my influences, a song I grew up on. As far as the coaches reactions, it was awesome. I spoke to Pharrell [Williams] prior to my performance and he was just basically dropping jewels on me. Any time you can get a moment with someone of that caliber, you embrace it, you enjoy it and you stop and listen, so it was awesome. Also, my coach loved it. She has been supportive since day one, so it is amazing to have her on my side each round.
What was the most helpful thing Pharrell told you?
Bryan: When he told me that based on my performance from last week, that no matter what happens on the show, there is a place for me in the industry, I felt that put me at ease in my performance.
Alisan, that was such a powerful performance. What was going through your mind before you heard the coaches’ comments?
Alisan: Honestly, I really connect to that song. I have been there more than I’d like to admit. I think that heartbreak is the rawest emotion a person can have. The song speaks about it so perfectly. It really does explain how you feel. You genuinely want somebody to be happy, but inside, you’re a disaster. So it was very easy for me to emotionally connect to that song. I was feeling blessed and emotional.
Why did you pick “Stone Cold”?
Alisan: I really wanted to sing that song because I have been singing a lot of throwback songs, which I will always do because that’s the genre I connect to the most—the ’60s and ’70s and rock and roll and nice ballads and whatever. But I also want to make a current record, so I felt I should showcase something that I would want to do on my own record and that’s why I chose it.
You are all used to singing live, but is singing live on television what you thought it would be?
Nick: It’s put a mirror on myself in a way that I haven’t done in the past. I have been performing live for 11 years, but rarely do I sit and watch a live recording of my shows. I might pick the best 15 seconds and put it on Instagram. I hear myself tune in the studio and listen to me singing, but it’s a very produced product, so this has been a huge reflective process for me. Ultimately, that’s how I’m going to grow. I felt a little naked for sure in this process.
Alisan: I also think you spend the whole week torturing yourself about however many minutes you are going to be on stage, which isn’t that many. Then you walk on stage and go, ‘Oh, okay. This is just what I do.” But there is that extra added element of the insane audience, the four huge superstars sitting in front of you and the fact that if you screw up, it is on live television.
What is the best piece of advice your coach gave you to motivate you for this week?
Alisan: She basically has told me to just be true to myself and stay authentic. She has been very, very clear that she feels super strong about that, and I do, too. It’s a huge part of why I wanted to be on this show particularly. I did want to show my true self. I think we all get the opportunity to do that. I think this season in particular everybody is amazing. These are 12 of the coolest people I have ever met in my life. It’s not just that they’re talented, they’re good-looking, they’re brilliant at their craft, but they’re good people. We are an incredible group of people.
How far ahead do you start picking out songs for future weeks?
Bryan: We are always brainstorming. Sometimes you can have a list but you may like a song that comes out next week and now that song is on your list. The list is ever changing. You are always going to fill it out and have a list in your head but it’s never complete because there is always music coming out.
Did a coach ever talk you out of a song?
Nick: It’s a dialogue. It’s not just us and the coaches. It is also the amazing music department on the show. There are so many amazing eyes and ears going into making sure you are picking the best song, not just for you as an artist, but the story you are weaving during the season. To make sure you don’t jump from X to Y too fast. There might be excellent songs for you, but it might need to happen in three weeks, or whatever it is. There is definitely an open dialogue about what we call our dream list, our coaches ideas — Blake Shelton is notorious for just coming up with songs on a whim — Adam Wakefield’s “Seven Spanish Angels” that was totally Blake’s idea. You never know where the songs are going to come from. We’ve been encouraged to sit for at least a half hour with songs that might surprise us before we go, “No, no, no,” because sometimes it is hard for us to see what the best song choice is.
Are you starting to think past the competition?
Alisan: I think we all know that there’s The Voice and then there is life after The Voice. The most important thing is to take what we’ve gained here and bring it into our careers after this. None of us want to disappear after this show. We’re all planning and figuring out what will we do if we don’t win; what will we do if we do win? Making a plan. You have to have a plan for yourself. I think we are all motivated to stay in the public eye.
The Voice returns tonight at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC with performances from the Top 11.
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