Tweet This Page

This is just an unofficial fan page, we have no connection to any shows or networks.

Please click here to vote for our site!

By Krista

Interview with singers from "The Voice" on NBC 10/14/15

Here are the responses from Siannha.

Krista: How does it feel to be 15 years old and to be participating in a show like "The Voice?

Siannha: It feels so amazing to have an opportunity that barely anyone gets to have, let alone fifteen year olds. I am just very grateful for this opportunity.

Krista: How did you feel when you found out you won the battle round?

Siannha: I just in pure shock because I felt that Ivonne and I did our best jobs out there. I had no idea who he was going to choose. I was just so happy that he chose me.

THE VOICE ADVANCING ARTISTS PRESS AND MEDIA

Moderator: Shauna Wynne
October 14, 2015 1:00 pm CT

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen thank you for standing by and welcome to The Voice Advancing Artists, Press and Media conference call.

During the presentation all participants will be in a listen-only mode. Afterwards we will conduct a question and answer session. At that time if you have a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephone.

If at any time during the conference you need to reach an operator, please press star zero. As a reminder this conference is being recorded on Wednesday, October 14, 2015.

I would now like to turn the conference over to Ms. Shauna Wynne with Voice Publicity. Please go ahead.

Shauna Wynne: Hey everyone, thanks for joining our conference call with The Voice Advancing Artists. Again, this call is being recorded. So if you’d like a transcript you can email me s-w-y-n-n-e@m-p-r-m.com.

Joining us today from Team Adam we have Keith Semple. From Team Blake we have Chris Crump. From Team Gwen we have Kota Wade and Jeffery Austin. And from Team Pharrell we have Madi Davis.

From Team Blake, Ivonne will not be able to join, and Team Pharrell, Siahna will not be able to join. So if you have questions specifically for them, go ahead and email me and I’ll put you in loop with them.

Out of respect for all journalists, please only ask one question at a time. You will have the option to queue again later. And if your question is for the whole group, please designate one artist to answer first.

I will now turn the call over to the question and answer portion.

Operator: Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen if you would like to register a question, please press the 1 followed by the 4 on your telephone. You will hear a three-toned prompt to acknowledge your request.

If your question has been answered and you would like to redraw your registration, please press the 1 followed by the 3. If you’re using a speakerphone please lift your handset before entering your request. One moment please for the first question.

Our first question comes from the line Josh Maloni with Niagara Frontier Publications. Please proceed.

Josh Maloni: Thank you. My question is for Keith. How you doing today Keith?

Keith Semple: Hey Josh. How’s it going man?

Josh Maloni: Good. So you’re already a talented musician with a good amount of experience coming into the show. I’m wondering - I was really impressed with your second performance that we saw last night.

What would you say you’ve learned, and how would you say you’ve grown as an artist since participating in the show?

Keith Semple: Well I’m pleasantly surprised to find out that I still have plenty to learn, and that’s really nice because I thought, you know, after 17 years I pretty much had learned most of what I needed to learn.

But I definitely think my voice is definitely got a lot stronger. And a few people have been commenting at my shows here in Chicago that my range has improved and that my just overall sort of technique has improved and sounds better.

And so if people are noticing that, that must be a good thing so, I’m happy about that.

Josh Maloni: Do you attribute that all to your coach, or to what do you attribute that?

Keith Semple: I’d have to say mostly your vocal coach; to (Lonnie). And I’m always very skeptical of these things. I’m just a skeptic in general in life, so it’s sort of weird when I have - I like to be proven wrong, you know.

And (unintelligible) has definitely done that. She has made me a true believer in the whole vocal coach thing. And so I feel like I’m stronger, I feel like my throat is healthier, and I feel like I can hit notes and hold them. I feel like even my technique has gotten a lot better of doing runs and licks and stuff, so I’m very happy with that. And I think (unintelligible) done to her.

Josh Maloni: Okay, thank you. Good luck with the show.

Keith Semple: Cheers. Thanks man.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Mark Franklin with Voice Views. Please proceed.

Mark Franklin: Yes, I’d like to hear from the three people who won battles we didn’t see last night. I was wondering if each of you can fill us in on what we missed. How you prepared, what your strategy was; why you think the decision went in your favor. And if we could start with Kota, please. Hello?

Shauna Wynne: Kota, make sure you’re not on mute please.

Kota Wade: Oh sorry, I was on mute. Hi, how are you. So when I found out that I was going to be singing a song that No Doubt had done, I was really, really, really nervous. And it proved to be a really difficult song to battle with.

And we rehearsed a ton and there was lots of notes given. And it was really nerve-wracking having to perform a song that was so special to Gwen, to her face and know that she was thinking of it in a completely different way than we were thinking of it.

And just the preparation that went into it, this was probably the hardest I’ve ever worked on anything in my life, and the most nervous I’ve ever been in my life.

And I - my strategy going into it was I was literally going to leave everything on the table. I was going to show them everything I had.

So what you didn’t see was how crazy I was, running around the stage and kind of just singing my lungs out. And it apparently worked. The coaches all kind of said, you know, it was just like an interesting way that I performed it. But it kind of pushed me a little bit over the top. So my strategy worked and I’m very grateful that Gwen saw something in me.

Mark Franklin: Do you think that’s what turned the tide in your favor, just the energy you showed?

Kota Wade: I do; I do. All along Gwen had been telling me to really tap into that passion because she knows that I’m a trained singer. That I’ve been doing this my whole life. And she wanted me to kind of let go of all my technique and just kind of, you know, tap into the passion and the energy and really channel the song and the emotions.

So it took me a while to learn what she really meant by that. And I think she saw that I really took into account what she had been telling me. And I think that’s what made her lean towards me.

Mark Franklin: Great, thanks. (Unintelligible) Jeffery please.

Kota Wade: Mm-hmm.

Jeffery Austin: Hi, this is Jeffery. So when I found out I was going to be paired with my partner, Noah Jackson I was pretty scared because the guy has got incredible control and such a great tone for someone his age. He’s only 19.

And furthermore our song, Can’t Feel My Face by The Weekend was absolutely more in his wheelhouse. And so I was definitely nervous.

And going into the rehearsals, and Gwen and (Selena) that definitely showed because I didn’t really, you know, give any emotions this song. I also am a trained singer and kind of come from that trained background, so when I first dig into a song I really was only looking at it from the vocalist perspective versus a performer.

And Gwen (unintelligible) appreciates the ability that you have as a vocalist and a technical singer, she really doesn’t care about it if there’s nothing behind it with emotion. And so that’s all I worked on.

And you know, really getting comfortable, you know, dancing and singing on stage, because it’s not anything that I would have ever chosen for myself or done, but what I’m glad about that performance is it pushed me to do that and it made me so much more comfortable as a performer going forward.

And so I think that’s what she really saw, and there was just a clip of her feedback, but it was really all about the progress that I had shown from the first panino rehearsal with (Selena) to the performance on stage.

Mark Franklin: Great, thanks. And next we’ll go to Madi, please.

Madi Davis: Yes, so can you hear me?

Mark Franklin: Fine.

Madi Davis: Yes, okay sorry, I was just making sure I wasn’t on mute because our phone is like not working.

So yes, when I - something funny about - okay, so I knew I was going to be paired with Sydney as soon as I found out that she was going to be on Pharrell’s team. Because out of everybody on our team, it just made the most sense to put me and her together, not only because we’re close in age but because we have sort of similar styles.

And the harder part about finding out that I was going to be with Sydney was that she - we’ve been friends since, you know, executive callbacks for the show. And you know, pretty much since the beginning of the whole process and we’ve been going through it together.

So it was - when I first found out I was kind of upset. But then I realized that, I mean how many people get to sing on national television with one of their close friends. You know, do a duet with their closest friend on TV. I thought it was - I kind of saw the bright side and you know, I just kind of buckled down.

And you know we decided that we were going to work really hard on it. And we really did the arrangement. We were pretty much up all night the day before our reality rehearsal kind of hammering away at the arrangement and trying to perfect it. And you know I think Pharrell really like it.

But what you guys didn’t see about the rehearsals around the piano was that Sydney has this really strong voice that’s really loud and just really powerful. And Pharrell thought that I was going to be sort of overshadowed by her power if I didn’t, you know, find a little bit of my own. And he kept saying that over and over again.

We would sing and he would say something like that and we would sing again and he would say something like that again. It was really frustrating for me because I felt like no matter what I did, I wasn’t going to be as powerful as Sydney. And I was just going to be really dully compared to her as far as vocals strength goes.

And so the, you know, time went on and I really just - I worked so hard to kind of find that part of myself that Pharrell was talking about. And you know the next rehearsal they suggested that we didn’t play guitars. And we both were kind of like, I think we should anyway.

And then the day before our battle we kind of decided not to play them. And I think that that’s what really kind of set me up kind of rise to the occasion I guess, because it helped me to sing better and louder. And you know, really kind of showed Pharrell that I was willing to do what he asked me to do, and apparently rise to the occasion like he said.

So yes, I mean it’s a bummer that Sydney didn’t get stolen though, because she - like I said, she was one of my closest friends. But, I’m glad to be advancing.

Mark Franklin: Okay, thanks. (Unintelligible) turned out really, really well.

Madi Davis: Thank you. Thank you.

Mark Franklin: And congratulations to all three you and, best of luck.

Madi Davis: Thank you.

Kota Wade: Thank you.

Jeffery Wade: Thanks.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Earl Dittman with Digital Journal. Please proceed.

Earl Dittman: Chris, dude, what an incredible performance. You made us Houston proud. Just incredible.

Chris Crump: Thank you sir. This is Chris. Thank you so much.

Earl Dittman: No, it was fantastic to watch. Of course as they said, you’re basically a pop singer, but you kind of turn into your - into kind of a pop song in your own way. But was it - we’re surrounded by country music here in Houston, Texas, so it’s kind of a natural thing.

But was it still daunting though to approach the Brad Paisley song in front of him?

Chris Crump: Incredibly. Just because also being, you know, from Texas and from the South, you know, how would I have been perceived if I screwed up, you know, a country legend’s song in the South? You know I think some people might have, you know, keyed my car every chance they got, or something like that.

So I was trying my best to - yes, it was a country song. It was way out of my wheelhouse, but what I was telling Blake and what Brad was telling me was, it’s about the story you tell. And the story was very personal to me, that actually I didn’t even realize it. But they played that song at my grandfather’s funeral just months prior. Actually not even a month prior to that.

And so it meant something to me and it still kind of does, you knew. And it was a country song but it was more of just telling the story and in my own way, honoring him, you know.

Earl Dittman: Well yes, as we saw on the clip, we could see that emotion. And I think it came through in the performance, very much so.

Chris Crump: Absolutely. Yes, I was worried about it because I was like well, because Krista has such a strong country voice, you know. And I was worried about that. I was like well, she’s going to be a shoe-in for this. And not just that, she’s been a huge Brad Paisley fan for a long time, and thought she was going to do it just excellent justice.

And I thought well - and I remember, Manny Cabo told this, because I was worried about how to sing it. And he showed me a clip of Sting singing the song, Fragile, which he’s one of my favorite artists. And then he showed me a clip of Stevie Wonder singing the exact same song.

And Manny said, “Chris, do you see how they’re singing the same song. But because they’re two different people, do you see how they’ve made it their own?” And he goes, just do that man. Just be yourself.

And I had lots of awesome conversations with Manny, and that just made me feel better about it. And that’s just how I sang it. I decided well, I’m not a country artist, but I’m going to sing it like I can, and that made it a lot easier.

Earl Dittman: Well and I have to say since the last time we spoke, I’ve been, you know, to a couple of karaoke nights, a couple of open mic nights and I’ve run into a lot of people - a lot of friends of yours here. And you’re a heck of a nice guy according to everybody.

Some people from your church I met, they go oh, my god I go to church with him and his wife. And (unintelligible) and they’re like, he is the coolest most gracious dude in the world.

So - because a lot of musicians are very ambitious but, you know, gnarly in a way. But apparently you got a really fantastic reputation here in town.

Chris Crump: Well that’s good to know. I learned a long time ago, you know, as a young man sometimes you think you have to kind of be a douche bag, you know, to get what you want. You know or sometimes you have to be cocky.

And then I learned a long time ago, like one, people don’t like it when you big league them. And B, life is too short to do that stuff. Just be honest. I just to like you know, exaggerate my exploits, you know, to make myself sound better but, that never worked out for me. It just made me look like a douche bag. So, I might as well just be honest, you know, with people.

You know it’s like hey, can I take a picture? Yes, you know. It’s one of my favorite things to say is, I don’t have any money man. So if you’re going to charge me, you know, it’s like life is too short and you know, people just can see through, you know, the BS. And so I’d rather just be genuine.

Earl Dittman: Well it’s hard to imagine Chris as a douche bag, but you know, at all. Well man...

Chris Crump: Well we’re all young, aren’t we?

Earl Dittman: Yes, we’re all young. Well man again, fantastic performance and keep doing it man. We’re behind you 1000%. Thanks so much.

Chris Crump: Thank you so much. Thank you.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen as a reminder, to register a question please press the 1, 4 on your telephone. Our next question comes from the line Krista Chain with TV MegaSite. Please proceed.

Krista Chain: Hello, my question is for Siahna. What’s it like to be 15-years-old and...

Shauna Wynne: Siahna is not on the call. Krista, Siahna and Ivonne are not on the call. You can email me after your question for Siahna.

Krista Chain: Okay, thank you.

Shauna Wynne: Sorry about that.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Amy Epperson with The Baytown Sun. Please proceed.

Amy Epperson: My question is for Chris.

Chris Crump: Hey, this is Chris.

Amy Epperson: Hey. I’ve been able to speak to some of your mentors here in Baytown. They say you already have so much talent. But how do you feel you have grown as a musician and performer during this experience so far?

Chris Crump: Well with any experience, if you surround yourself with great people you just rise to their level. And everyone who is on this call right now, they’re phenomenal singers and they’re phenomenal people.

And being in a place where with all these singers, guys like Manny and Keith and Darius and Jordan and just - I could just - the names go on and on. Like I said, everyone who’s on this call, I listen to them and I hear them.

And I as a competitive person say, I want to be that good. And I just emulate what they do and I just want to - yes, so absolutely it’s made me grow as an artist because just watching these guys and how professional they are, it just makes me want to be all the better.

Like it really does. It makes me sit back and want to workshop my craft. Because if I take myself seriously as a professional then I want to be just as good as these guys, you know. And I watch what they’re doing.

And the vocal coaching that we got obviously from Blake and Brad Paisley and (Churlane), our vocal coach, all that you just absorb it to just get better at your craft and your profession.

Amy Epperson: Okay, thank you very much.

Chris Crump: Thank you.

Man: Stop making us tear up Chris.

Operator: Our next question comes from the line of Earl Dittman with Digital Journal. Please proceed.

Earl Dittman: This is for Keith. A song like Baba O’Riley is legendary. And as you said on the show, it’s going to be compared to Roger Daltrey.

How did you kind of synch yourself into doing that? I mean as they, it was effortless, your vocals. But how did you kind of synch yourself into doing that song?

Keith Semple: (Unintelligible) it’s Keith. You know what, to be honest I had a little bit of an unfair advantage over Manny on that song because I have sung that song literally maybe a thousand times. I have sung that song inside one of the medleys that I do with my old band, and we literally had done that medley about a thousand times; no joke.

So I felt - as soon as I found out that’s what we were going to sing and that’s what Adam had picked, I was like oh, okay that’s fine. Like I literally - I don’t know if you saw when we were standing around the piano and they said, do you guys kind of know this song and I went like, yes.

I didn’t know how to like - so yes it was a little unfair, but was kind of fun was I had to - in a way I had to think about the fact that I have sung this a thousand times, but I’ve been singing it from a performer’s standpoint and not a vocalists standpoint. Because anybody that’s seen me play, they know I jump about like a crazy person on the stage. And I always sacrifice about 20% of my vocal ability for it because you’re trying to entertain a crowd, you know.

So I was trying to think oh, well wait. I actually have to think about each line here. What would I like to do on each line? And so it was quite nice to, you know, get to dissect something that I’ve done so many times.

And it was fun obviously working with Manny because I’m sure as you’ve probably seen so far, everyone loves Manny.

Earl Dittman: Oh, yes.

Keith Semple: So the fact that I got paired to battle with him was, you know, just the icing on the cake really. I mean I think it was Madi that I was listening to earlier said she knew who she was going to be paired with from the start.

And said, I just want to, you know, that’s exactly the same as me. As soon as I found out Manny was on Team Adam, we were like both okay, well it will be us two together. Because any other pairing would just be silly, you know. The two rockers and all that. So yes, that’s about it.

Earl Dittman: And so what kind of - what did you learn from Brad Paisley in terms of advice? I mean did you take something away from that that really kind of resonated with you?

Keith Semple: Well for me it was (unintelligible). But really if you’re still asking me...

Earl Dittman: I’m sorry, yes.

Keith Semple: I assume that’s what you meant.

Earl Dittman: Yes, I’m sorry.

Keith Semple: I mean I’m a huge fan, so like anybody that listens to the music I listen to, I mean CCR is just a staple part of it. So you know because to understand where Rock music comes from today, you have to listen to where Rock music started.

And you know that guy - I don’t know if you saw that recording of him and Adam doing like a jam session...

Earl Dittman: Yes, yes.

Keith Semple: ...where they did one of Paisley’s older songs. And I was like, the guy is like 70-something and he still sounds like he’s 25. I was like, how does he sound that good.

And I was sitting with my guitar player at the time watching, and he was like, and listen to his guitar playing. The guy has still got shock. I was like, I know. I was like, that guy could be in our band tomorrow and nobody would even blink an eye.

So I was very sort of like I mean, absolutely in awe of the guy. And there’s a funny stuff I wish they would show that happened behind the scenes between me and Mr. (Fogarty). But I’m going to wait to see if they show that in the next couple of weeks you know, as like an outtake or something, because I don’t want to spoil it.

But if they don’t show it, then I’ll tell everybody about it after the competition. Because yes, I don’t want to ruin it in the meantime.

Earl Dittman: Well again, it was another brilliant performance. I think it was fantastic. You guys are just slaying it this season.

Keith Semple: Thank you.

Earl Dittman: Thank you so much. Appreciate it.

Keith Semple: Cheers.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen as a reminder, to register a question please press the 1, 4 on your telephone keypad. We have a question from the line Earl Dittman with Digital Journal. Please proceed.

Earl Dittman: Okay Chris, I can’t let you go. I’ve got to ask you a couple of more questions. I may have asked this before, but what is the best advice you’ve given to somebody, not just in Houston but you know, a kid growing up and wanting to be a musician?

But you know 30 years go by, should they keep - I mean, what advice would you give to somebody who just keeps trying and trying and doesn’t always make it but, at some point just might.

Chris Crump: This is Chris and yes, that is a great question because I’ve asked myself that question a thousand times with crippling self-doubt.

Earl Dittman: Yes.

Chris Crump: So I think anybody that’s, you know, gotten over a certain age, you know, probably the age of 30, we start asking questions. Because most of society, especially as men, they say well why don’t you have, you know, a super steady job, you know a wife, and three kids or whatever you know the standard is, you know, for that place? And in the South as you know very - that’s very prominent.

So what I tell people when they ask me that question, why should you keep going; why should you keep doing it, and I once took a music business class and this guy said something I never forgot. He said the difference between -- and he started naming these celebrities that are out there; musicians -- he said, the difference between them and all the people that you see in the bars every night is he said, they were the most persistent. He said they didn’t let the negativity get them down, they just were persistent. You know they just didn’t give up.

And I listened to that and I really took that to heart. And even when people back home were making fun of me saying wow, you know you’re kind of embarrassing yourself, still doing it at this age. Like seriously, some people are just harsh and honest.

And so I would just say yes, but I’m happy, you know. This is what I want to do. And what separates them from me is, this is what I want to do and I just want it more. You know you have to want it more. There’s no such thing as a small gig. You play everything you possibly can because you love to do it and you want to get better at it.

And what separates the professionals and the ones that are - who are not are the ones who have stuck with it even through the crappy, horrible gigs and said you know what, I’m still going to keep going.

And hopefully you get your shot, you know. That’s what I would tell anybody who was in my position.

Earl Dittman: And how much has your Christian faith play into that? I mean is it a lot? Does that play into it as well? Does it give you kind of the persistence as well to have the faith that this might just happen for me?

Chris Crump: My faith is - it affects every aspect of my life. Every single aspect of my life. So yes, definitely with this one as well, but not in a way that most people think. Because some people would say, oh well your faith is what drives you to keep you going.

No, not necessarily. My faith is what drives me to keep going and be a better man, and to be a better husband. And I put my career in the hands of the God that I believe in.

But as a professional; as a musician I also realize that I can’t be lazy. I have to step up to the plate and I have to work hard. And I realize whatever God’s plan for my life is going to be, it’s going to happen, you know.

But so yes, that’s a good question and it’s sometimes a difficult one to answer, depending on who’s asking it.

Earl Dittman: No, it sounded fine to me. It sounded perfectly - you answered it perfectly. That was great.

Chris Crump: Awesome, thank you.

Earl Dittman: Well again, I can’t - I’m sure I’ll be talking to you again hopefully, pretty soon. So just keep on doing it, man. Congratulations.

Chris Crump: Awesome. I appreciate that. Thank you so much.

Earl Dittman: Thanks.

Operator: Ms. Wynne there are no further questions at this time.

Shauna Wynne: Thanks everyone for joining today. Again if you’d like a transcript or if you had a question for Ivonne or Siahna you can email me at s-w-y-n-n-e@m-p-r-m.com. Thanks everyone. Enjoy the rest of your day.

Operator: Ladies and gentlemen that does conclude the conference call for today. We thank you for your participation and ask that you please disconnect your lines.

END

Back to the Main Articles Page

Back to the Main Primetime TV Page

We need more episode guide recap writers, article writers, MS FrontPage and Web Expression users, graphics designers, and more, so please email us if you can help out!  More volunteers always needed!  Thanks!

Page updated 1/11/16