Having a Voice
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
As I’ve mentioned, I’m not a particular fan of The Voice or American Idol, and haven’t watched them in many years. But I’ve found that I do like special, individual performances for (most especially) the international editions of The Voice, which I’ve come across on YouTube, because the coaches tend to be particularly nice. That said, although this here below is still another video from The Voice: Australia – my favorite of the versions, because of how the kindness and nurturing of the coaches is at another level -- it’s different from the others. I had seen this “Blind Audition” by a woman named Tarryn Stokes, and was blown away by it. In fact, she may be my favorite singer I've seen on all videos of the various versions of the show. And loved this video for several other reasons, as well, beyond just her utterly superb performance of the song. But then a few months later, I saw a much longer video of that – a full montage of her performances throughout the show…because it turned out that my reaction to that first song was on the mark, as she ended up winning the 2023 competition!
What made that first video so special was not just her performance, which was absolutely great – but also because earlier in her life, she’d actually sung with two of the judges. (And two of my favorites. Watch their reactions during the Blind Audition when they realize who's singing) But the story is even better. She’d largely been a background singer, and was happy with being in the background because there was no pressure, and she didn’t have the confidence to be out front. She then left the music industry and raised a family, with two little kids. But going through growth of life, she felt music was something she very much wanted to get back to. And so, at age 40, she decided to take a chance.
This is 35 minutes, following her journey from the Blind Auditions through the Grand Finale. It’s all worth it, but if that’s too long for some people, just jump from each of her performances to the next. She’s so terrific. (How much so? At one point, a judge says, “Your voice is a combination of Mariah Carey and Baby Jesus.”) And the song selections for her are wonderful, as well – to my amazement, I actually knew four of the six songs she sings. But even if that’s too much to watch (and really, it will be a treat to check them all out), at least listen to the first two. “She Used to Be Mine,” from the musical Waitress, written by Sara Barreilles, and ABBA’s song, “The Winner Takes It All.” (I dearly love her performance in the first song, but in the second she hits a note emotionally that is stunning and even shocks her coach. Really. Watch for it.) And honestly, after listening to those two, I suspect many people will decide to keep listening…
But there’s one other thing to watch, as well: and that’s how supportive and happy the other judges are for her throughout her run, even though she’s on a competitor’s team. Because, as I keep saying, the Australian coaches on their version of The Voice are the absolute nicest.
BONUS: If you watched that full video, you’ll note that at one point as the other coaches were enthusing about Taryn Stokes, Guy Sebastian – who had performed with her several years earlier – lets them in on a ‘secret’ of sort and says, “You didn’t hear it all. She has more in the bag.” Well, for readers who didn’t hear enough of her in the video above, it turns out that that video was not all her performances in the show, so here is an additional 22 minutes of amazing music. Some of it is a repeat – so you can scroll past that, or revel in it again – but the majority of it are new treasures.
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