That Voice: A Decade With The Performers On NBC's The Voice

Jus Jon was raised by his mother and grandmother, and grew up in the church. He sang in three separate choirs and participated in church pageants until he was 16, with his mom always being his biggest fan. Sadly, his mom was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and her illness has recently advanced. Outside of helping care for his mom, Jus Jon gigs around Virginia with his jazz band and lives with hi...

Nelson was raised in a strict Christian household where he and his siblings weren’t allowed to listen to the radio. After starting first grade, Nelson begged his parents for piano lessons. They agreed under the condition that he couldn’t quit once he started. Nelson mastered piano, learned guitar and eventually began singing. At 15, Nelson started dating Stephanie, his now fiancée, the same year h...

Tate has been singing his whole life and got his raspy tone from damaging his vocal cords when he was young. When he was 7, his parents got him a guitar to accompany his singing, which encouraged him to start writing his own songs. Tate dedicates a lot of his time to his original music, performs around town and had a six-day set at the Sundance Film Festival last year. Outside of music, Tate enjoy...

Camm was raised in a strict, athletic household where sports became his priority. His mother, a registered nurse, and his father, an Army Ranger, always pushed him to play two sports. Camm loved basketball and dreamed of playing in the NBA until an injury in high school turned his focus toward music. He dedicated himself to singing in choir and taught himself to play piano after spending all of hi...

Adopted as a baby, Darious grew up a pastor’s kid and that inspired his love for gospel music. He joined a band in high school and after graduation dedicated his time to writing and recording music. His career was finally taking shape until he suddenly lost his father. Darious has taken his time to get back into music, but had quick success on Spotify when a song he produced was streamed over a mi...

Todd is the lead pastor at the church where he grew up and is married to his high school sweetheart. After having three children together, he and his wife decided to adopt. With help from friends and the community, they pieced together $20,000 and brought home a new daughter. Less than a year later, the agency called saying their daughter's sister also needed a home. After an anonymous donation, t...

Hey it’s Arroe. This is Play It Forward. A look at the unexpected changes endured by entertainers, writers, camera people and all others affected but not infected by the global invasion of the Coronavirus. Real people. Real stories. The struggle to Play It Forward. Episode 46: Mandi Thomas has always loved singing. It opened the door for her to perform on Season 18 of NBC’s The Voice. Away from th...

Micah was born and raised in Tokyo to Christian missionary parents. As one of nine children, he turned to singing and taught himself to play guitar in order to set himself apart from his siblings. Micah later moved to the U.S. to attend the University of Virginia. Eager to fit in, he joined an acapella group and continued to work on his personal music. After graduating, Micah pursued a career in b...

Zan grew up surrounded by music through her mother being a piano and vocal teacher. The whole family participated in a local dinner theater – from helping backstage to performing – which began her love for music and the arts. Zan started gigging at 16 and dedicates most of her time to music. She is also passionate about minimalism and likes to keep everything zen and mellow. Zan is a worship leade...

Michael asked for voice lessons for Christmas when he was 6. His parents were surprised by the request since they lived in a small town where their life revolved around sports, but they agreed to pay for the lessons. Shortly after, Michael got involved in community theater and began performing at local events. At 10, Michael was diagnosed with a digestive disease that kept him from playing sports,...

Thunderstorm grew up in a large musical family with 10 siblings on the shores of Oahu. They formed a family band and would perform at their father's art gallery, attracting tourists from all over the world. Sadly, his father passed away suddenly after suffering a heart attack and Thunderstorm started singing as a method of grieving. He later teamed up with his brother to tour as a duo until Thunde...

Joei’s first performance was at 2 years old when she joined her dad’s band on stage to sing “Jingle Bells” in front of 2,000 people. Her dad was a professional bodybuilder until he quit to be a traveling musician, taking the family all over the world. Now Joei and her siblings all play with their dad in the family band and make their living as musicians. She describes her close-knit family as the...

Allegra grew up on the beautiful island of St. John, spending her time freediving and sailing with her family. When she was 11, her family moved to Florida for more opportunities in music and education. Allegra has always been surrounded by music with her mother being a music therapist and her family would often play open mic nights together around town. At 12, Allegra began songwriting and postin...

Mike grew up with a single mom and grandmother who helped raise him and his brother. He was inspired to pursue music after his grandmother bought him a drum set. She would sing at retirement homes and take him along so he could play back-up. Spending this time with her taught him to always give back. Mike went on to study music education and became a middle school chorus teacher. He lost his grand...

Todd found his passion for heavy metal music at 15 when he joined his brother's band. He put music on the backburner after college and started working at his family's manufacturing company. During that time, he started a pen pal relationship with a woman from India who was a fan of his former band. After three years of writing, he flew out to meet her and proposed on his second trip. They now have...

Hey it’s Arroe. Welcome to my new podcast series Play It Forward. A look at the unexpected changes endured by entertainers, writers, camera people and all others affected but not infected by the global invasion of the Coronavirus. The goal is to feature two different types of episodes. The individual conversations as well as a collected array of the entire picture. Real people. Real stories. The s...

From: Minneapolis, NM Current city: Minneapolis, MN Jesse’s father was his biggest influence and introduced him to classic blues at a young age. After his father suddenly died of a heart attack, he began to lose his drive and considered quitting music. Then he got a call to audition for Prince. After many auditions, he got the opportunity to play for Judith Hill, whom Prince was producing. After P...

Kiara began singing before she could talk and started performing at 11 through the Collabo Youth Theater. From a young age, she was inspired to use music to make a positive difference in people's lives. Two years ago, Kiara was asked by the White House to sing the National Anthem at an event to raise awareness about campus violence. That same year, after the 2017 Las Vegas shooting, she wrote a fo...

Troy grew up in a modest family household. There was no TV but plenty of music. He dreamed of going to college to study engineering and play basketball, but after his dad’s death, he transferred to Boston College and focused on helping his mother. He started to jam with co-workers at a restaurant and joined the band called In like Lions, which had a five-year run. Three years ago, he met his girlf...

Hunter has been influenced by church and music from a young age by his family. His dad was in the Christian rock band Brother Brother and he’s been leading worship since he was 14. “The Voice” is his first time performing outside of church. Recently married, he records demos with his brother in his home studio. He lost his home, church and car after the Baton Rouge floods. He is currently living w...

Royce, named after the Rolls-Royce luxury car, was raised in a Christian household and began singing in church where his mother led worship. He taught himself guitar, started writing music and got his first gig at a local pizza shop in the 11th grade. After high school, Royce got married and had two kids, all while chasing his dream to play music. While he's had some success, he's also had some up...

Marina and her family moved to New York from Uzbekistan in search of a better life when she was 11. Adjusting to the new culture was difficult, but listening to American music helped her learn the language and begin to make friends. Marina became very involved in school plays and concerts, and she decided to pursue music after graduation. In 2007, she landed a deal with P. Diddy's Bad Boy Records...

Myracle knew she was destined to sing after joining the children’s choir at age 7. She started singing competitively and was discovered after high school by Philip Bailey of Earth, Wind & Fire and was invited to join his tour. While early success looked promising, Myracle was secretly dealing with emotional trauma from past abuse. These issues led to depression and misuse of substances, which push...

Alex learned to play guitar at 12 years old and later joined the school chorus and a garage band. At 16, he started gigging and skipped college to pursue music. When music wasn’t paying the bills, he explored his interest in reptiles and began snake breeding. With some money in his pocket, he spent a year doing a 44-state tour playing music around the country. After returning home, he was cast as...

Max grew up in a musical family and loved singing in the spotlight when he was young. As he got older and became a serious athlete, he hid his artistic side and would only sing when alone. Max was benched because of a broken arm in his freshman year of high school, so he reignited his love for singing and later posted a video on Facebook. His coach saw it and urged him to join the school choir whe...