"The Voice:" Artists Content with Format & Results

By Karen Moul

The VoiceThe Voice Battle Rounds continue, with celebrity coaches sending four more performers home each week. America won't get to vote until the field has been reduced by at least half. But despite being eliminated early, recent performers say they wouldn't change the show's format.

Pop singer Kelsey Rey feels "the coaches did a great job working with us, regardless of the outcome. I think that the whole show was such a great experience, and what we learned from it was amazing."

Adds Rey, "I don't think there should be anything changed about the show, because everything does happen for a reason. And all [of us]...have great things coming for us. That's all thanks to the show. I don't think that anything should have changed."

Rebecca Loebe agrees. "The format of the show," says the folksinger, "with the blind auditions is incredibly intriguing, and has caught a lot of people's attention, for sure.

"And something that I appreciated," she continues, "is that they really had a lot of respect for a diversity of creative expression. They didn't try to change what anyone did, you know?"

"Going into this I was afraid that I would come out to L.A. and be told that I had to change. And I was incredibly grateful that didn't happen," says Rebecca. "And because they didn't ask me to change anything, I don't feel like I would ask them to change anything."

Julia Eason is also content with the coaches, rather than America, making the decision to eliminate her. "I feel like the way that they have it set up," she says, "it's such a big part of how the show works. And if they were to jump right into the audience participation where they get to vote, I think it would kind of throw off the show."

"Yes," she continues, "we all got eliminated. But at the same time, the coaches do want the best for people on their team. And if they let America decide, it might not be who they wanted.

I think it's just a really important part of the show. I think they did a great job with that. And I honor them for that."

Besides, says Kelsey, "one 'no' does not determine the rest of your life."

After their elimination in the third battle round, Rey, Eason, and Loebe took time to discuss the competition, their individual battles, and their plans for the future with the digital media. The Voice continues Tuesdays at 10 pm on NBC.


NBC Universal
The Voice conference call with Julia Eason, Rebecca Loebe, and Kelsey Rey

May 25, 2011
12:00 pm CT

QUESTION: Rebecca, you and Devon were great. How did you feel right after and during the performance?

Rebecca LoebeREBECCA LOEBE: During the performance, I felt completely terrified and exhilarated all at the same time. I was thrilled to be on that stage and I worked really, really hard with Devon. We practiced 24/7 for days on end, practically.

And so by the time we got on stage it just kind of felt like, you know, you drop a quarter in the slot and see how it falls. And I actually had to watch again last night just to remember how it actually happened because it was such a blur. But right afterwards, I was incredibly proud of both of us.

QUESTION: The show and the format are new here in the U.S. Did any of you think that there is anything that should be changed, maybe the time spent with the coaches preparing you for the battles or how the battles are done or anything along those lines?

KELSEY REY: I think that the coaches...did a great job working with us, regardless of the outcome. I think that the whole show was such a great experience, and what we learned from it was amazing.

I don't think there really should be anything changed about the show, because everything does happen for a reason. And all three of us that are on the line, we, all three, have great things coming for us. That's all thanks to the show. don't think that anything should have changed.

JULIA EASON: I agree with Kelsey.

REBECCA LOEBE: I think that the format of the show, with the blind auditions is incredibly intriguing and has caught a lot of people's attention, for sure.

And something that I appreciated as a contestant is that they really had a lot of respect for a diversity of creative expression. They didn't try to change what anyone did, you know?

I think Dia and Serabee's performance last night was a perfect example of that. They got up and they did their own thing exactly how they both perform. They didn't try to like meet in the middle. Nobody pressured them to do that. They were both encouraged to perform, how they are.

And that was something that, as a sort of like non-mainstream folksinger basically, going into this I was afraid that I would come out to L.A. and be told that I had to change in this way or that way. And I was incredibly grateful that didn't happen. And I guess this just relates to the question, because I feel like they didn't ask me to change anything, so I don't feel like I would ask them to change anything.

QUESTION: Kelsey, how difficult was it shine yourself, but also support the sisters for the sake of the performance?

KELSEY REY: Oh my goodness. It is definitely difficult, because you want to get up there and you want to win, and you want to do your best, but you also want to sound really good as a trio.

And I think that Tori and Taylor and I, honestly, we sounded so great together and I -- you know, a lot of people even said that we should have been a trio rather than, you know, battling (duo).

But we all did a great job, and come battle time I was ready and I just wanted to win. I wanted to do my best. And I definitely think that I held by own.

But Tori and Taylor, I love the girls. So I obviously supported them the whole time and I'm so happy for them.

QUESTION: What do each of you have next, going on?

KELSEY REY: Well, I -- actually I've moved to L.A. I'm living in downtown L.A. I moved like three days ago...I drove. I packed up all my stuff and drove from Florida to California.

And I'm going to be working with songwriters and what not. So hopefully great things are to come, I hope.

REBECCA LOEBE: And I'm really excited about the summer. Actually, right after I left L.A., I got offers for a couple of music festivals that I've always wanted to perform at.

One of them actually starts in just a couple of weeks. I'll be performing main-stage at the Kerrville Folk Festival, in Kerrville, Texas; and also at the High Sierra Music Festival, in Quincy, California. And those have both been big goals of mine, to play those two particular festivals. And I was really proud that I was offered those opportunities before I was able to announce that I was on The Voice, because it just meant a lot to me that they wanted me on the merit of that, and not on the national exposure.

And then both festivals were, of course, thrilled when they found out that I was going to be on NBC, because they didn't even know that they were getting into that. So that was really exciting.

And I've got an (East Coast) tour - on the West Coast - surrounding the High Sierra date. I mean it's not a huge tour, but I'll be playing shows in San Francisco and Los Angles at little listening rooms I like. And then I'll also be playing some shows in the Northeast, in July, up in New York and Philly, and basically just trying to go to the cities that have supported me in the last four years of touring and give an intimate acoustic performance like I like to do.

I'm coming alive -- I know.

The AC in my car gave out yesterday, and I was thinking, "Come on -- air conditioning is not optional over the summer and I've got a lot of shows, so get it together." (Oh, great) -- just like all my cars.

JULIA EASON: I have been just writing and recording and just trying to get out there so, performing at little venues around L.A.; definitely had a couple of things that I had to put on hold for The Voice that I'm trying to get back into now; and yes, just a lot of writing and performing and recording, so far.

QUESTION: Julia, when you were stepping out onto the stage to do your battle round, what was going through your head?

Julia EasonJULIA EASON: Trying to focus and I was hoping that I wouldn't start coughing or having a cough attack, because backstage was a mess for me. I was just kind of getting over being sick. And at that stage, I always start coughing and not able to stop, at certain points. And I was hoping that was not going to be one of them. And I couldn't stop coughing backstage so I kept like downing water, like shoving it down my throat. And so that's pretty much what I was focusing on.

QUESTION: Rebecca, what was going through your head when you got the song selection?

REBECCA LOEBE: I absolutely love that song. I love Radiohead. I love "Creep." I think it's certainly one of the great (unintelligible) rock anthems from my childhood and early life. And I've never gotten an opportunity to perform it before, but I definitely sung along to it my car quite a bit. So as soon as I got the song selection, I just -- it just lit my heart up. I was just so happy to get to sing that song.

QUESTION: Last week when we talked to the eliminated contestants, some of them said that they wished the public was able to vote. Do any you think things would have been different if that was the case?

KELSEY REY: There's really no way of telling, because everybody has different opinions in the world and I think that the talent, the raw talent that we had on this show, I personally think that no other singing reality show compares with the amount of talent that we had on the show. I mean it was incredible and every single person was amazing.

And I personally feel blessed to be put in the same category as all these other artists. And I don't really know. You never know what America would say.

So I mean, either way, everything is all good.

JULIA EASON: And I feel like the way that they have it set up, it's such a big part of how the show works. And if they were to jump right into the audience participation where they get to vote, I think it would kind of throw off the show, in a way -- just because, yes, we all got eliminated and everyone is so amazing. But at the same time, the coaches do want the best for people on their team, no matter who they think they are. And if they let America decide, it might not be who they wanted.

And I don't know. I think it's just a really important part of the show. I think they did a great job with that. And I honor them for that.

REBECCA LOEBE: And I'll just say -- I think I definitely speak for just myself in this way -- but coming out to L.A., I definitely didn't ever anticipate that I would be the winner of the show. It wasn't a goal of mine. My goal is just to be involved.

And so I had sort of a different attitude about it; definitely not like an in-it-to-win-it. You know, I was just in it to experience it and to get to sing for a new audience.

And so with that being the case, you know you're going -- all but one person is going to get rejected at some point. That's what we did, is we all went to L.A. to sing until we got sent home -- or, you know, become the winner and get all the fame and glory and what not.

But given that 31 people -- or maybe 33, given the duos -- I can't believe it. I think I personally would rather leave on a high note, having a song that I love, with a person that I respect and have it be a decision made by one person who, you know, for better or worse said that he struggled with it, rather than the implication being, "Oh, you were rejected by the country," which is going to be hard.

And I don't know if that would be easy for me to handle, because I love the country and I love singing for people, so I would hate to think that there were a lot of people out there, who, you know, didn't vote.

JULIA EASON: I completely agree.

QUESTION: Rebecca, going back to the blind auditions, why did you pick Adam over Christina?

REBECCA LOEBE: Wow, okay. That's a great question.

I could have spent ten years debating that. I take a long time making decisions, usually. And unfortunately, I only had ten seconds. And all I really had to go on in that moment was this feeling in my gut that told me that if I got to spend ten minutes alone in a room with someone in the entertainment industry, I would like for it to be someone who has created a massive career -- launched it, by writing their own music.

Because that's a part of what I do that's incredibly important to me, because I write original music and I sing for people. I create my own records. I have my own show -- I play acoustic guitar and I sing original songs.

And even though Christina had been involved in her song writing in recent years, that's not what launched her career. Whereas, with Adam Levine, that's 100% of what launched his career.

And that's all I had to go on.

But I will be very honest and say that if I didn't know any of that in the moment that I was making my decision -- if I was just facing it on the energy that each coach was giving me during my performance and in their follow-up comments -- I would have gone with Christina, because she was giving me just the most beautiful, nurturing, warm energy that I have possibly ever received from somebody while I was singing. And that was a huge blessing that I will never, ever forget.

QUESTION: Other than your own, has there been an elimination yet that's really surprised you?

JULIA EASON: You know, I love and support everybody that made the top 32 -- everyone that was performing.

Yes, I was surprised for some of them. I'm not going to say who or which ones, just because I love the people that they won against, and the people that did end up winning.

But I will say that I was a little shocked for a couple of them and didn't agree for some. But I do think everybody did an amazing job. And, you know, it was all up to the coaches. So their choice, I guess.

Kelsey ReyKELSEY REY: I agree with Julia. Yes, of course, I think that some of us are a little surprised on the outcome. But seriously, like I said before, The Voices here on this show, they don't compare to any other show. And I can seriously say that because I respect and I love everybody's styles and everybody is so unique and just so cool.

Like they put 32 of the best of the best together, and we became a family. So, you know, everyone is really, really great.

Of course, there was a shock, but everyone is great. So there's really no telling.

REBECCA LOEBE: I believe that any one of the 32 people in the top finals, given the correct alignment of the stars, could have gone on to be the winner. So at that point, it becomes about -- it's about song selection, about chemistry, about your connection with the judge; about whether your bring your A-game to your performances and whether or not you are convincing your coach that's what they need.

So I feel like pretty much most of the contestants who have been eliminated in battle rounds, if there is a song that they could have been given that would have been more to their advantage. And it's just a matter of how the chips fell on that particular night.

I don't think that anybody who has moved on hasn't deserved it. And that's what happens when you get 32 really talented, really dedicated people together.

But the sad truth is someone has got to go home. It's just the way it's got to be.

QUESTION: Kelsey, since Cee Lo had such a hard time with the decision, have you spoken to him since?

KELSEY REY: Well, no. Cee Lo always tells me, even in the rehearsals -- and the time that we had alone even -- he tells that if I stay true to who I am and what I sing and what I love, then everything is going to be fine.

And I think that I definitely am going to take everything that he said, because Cee Lo is huge. He's at the top of his game right now. And he is an incredible artist that I love and respect. And the fact that he even took the time to work with me is just incredible. It's mind blowing.

So, Cee Lo told me what I need to do, aside from the show. You know, you have to get out there and you have to keep doing what you love and keep pushing.

And one "no" does not determine the rest of your life. So you just have to be strong. And (he tells) me to write, so that's what I'm doing.

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