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

Destiny was raised by a single mother who put her in musical theater after discovering her talent for singing at 8 years old. Her mother remarried a year later and her stepfather adopted her, which has been a huge blessing. Throughout the rest of her childhood, Destiny participated in theater and after high school attended a two-year worship school. She went on to pursue a career as a Christian ar...

Shane gets his musical talents from his dad, who gigs with Shane’s uncle and tunes pianos for a living. Shane was painfully shy growing up, but music eventually helped him come out of his shell. He was involved in the school choir, but only as the saxophone and drums player. He didn’t start singing until his teacher caught him singing along one day and urged him to join the choir. He began to feel...

Kat began singing in her church choir in the fourth grade and devoted herself to learning piano shortly after. Thanks to her parents, Kat grew up on ’60s and ’70s music that fostered her love of singing. In middle school, she was invited to New York to sing at Carnegie Hall, which opened the opportunity to sing solo at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts several times. Singing on these worl...

Ricky inherited his love of music from his father, who was a musician with another full-time job to support the family. At 6 years old, Ricky’s father taught him guitar and they played in a band together throughout Ricky’s high school years. Ricky went on to attend Berklee College of Music and form his own band while his father acted as their manager. Shortly after graduation, Ricky’s father tragi...

James grew up in a musical household and started playing the clarinet at 12 years old. By the time he got to high school, he’d already learned saxophone, ukulele, guitar and piano, and even found an interest in singing. James started playing covers with a friend and began to think of music as more than a hobby. Outside of music, James is currently studying business marketing and works as a supervi...

Growing up, Brandon’s mother wanted him to be a singer. After an accident that placed him in a body cast for two months, he turned to music. He created various groups but put music on the backburner to pursue volleyball, for which he earned a college scholarship. Throughout college, he got back into music and joined the group “BEST,” which eventually became the duo Them Island Boyz. They won the 1...

Will learned to sing when he was just 3 years old. He was diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism, and his parents believed music would be helpful in his development. No matter what he was going through, he could always turn to music for comfort. Will went on to attend college in Santa Barbara and stayed in town after graduation to pursue music. Will is currently a on...

Rose started singing when she was 5 years old in Germany, where her father was stationed with the military. Growing up, she often performed at community events on the base. Her family eventually moved to Texas where she became involved in choir and theater. She always loved music, but after school she needed a job that paid the bills so she took a position at a male maximum-security prison. Rose w...

Resident: Cookeville, TN Jake was born in Texas, but his parents are missionaries and relocated the family to the Dominican Republic when he was 9. While living there he began singing and playing guitar while also becoming fluent in Spanish. At 20, he moved to Tennessee where he began gigging and attended Tennessee Tech University as a walk-on football player. Jake later got married and now has a...

Lauren has always loved music, but soccer has come first for most of her life. She started playing at 5 and in her teens was on the elite team Eclipse Select Soccer Club. Lauren always dreamed of singing but was working toward a soccer scholarship and there wasn't much time to practice outside of games and training. While attending Ball State University, she would sing the national anthem before h...

Jessie had a difficult childhood. At 10 years old he and his siblings were separated and handed over to the state. Jessie wanted to sing but felt no one cared about him and his aspirations. He was eventually accepted to a performing arts high school and met kids with similar interests, but remained in a group home until he was 18. After high school, he got a show at the Apollo Theater and received...

Vanessa grew up singing with her family. Raised by her grandmother, she enrolled in piano lessons at age 5 and competed in her first competition in fifth grade. She moved in with her mother at age 13 and began taking songwriting seriously. After being diagnosed with endometriosis, she was hospitalized monthly and poured her heart into music. In 2011, she lived in Beijing, performing six nights a w...

Autumn was raised by a single mother with help from her mother’s friend and godfather, her big inspiration, before passing four years ago. She grew up singing in church and choir, even joining a local girl group called Bloom. At age 3, Autumn enrolled in ice-skating, competed competitively until she was 13, and eventually turning to coaching at 16. Autumn currently works as an English teacher at a...

Megan's dad is her biggest musical inspiration and was a natural musician who could play anything by ear. When she was younger, she discovered that her father was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis before she was born. Megan attends San Francisco State University while trying to pursue a career music. She performs in and around school, singing the National Anthem or performing at live events around...

From Kansas City, KS/Current city Los Angeles Eric has a high voice and when he was younger used to get offended when people told him he sounded like a woman. Now he loves the fact that he has a unique voice. He is currently attending Cal State University, Northridge, where he is studying classical music and vocal performance and is two classes away from graduating. To make ends meet he works as a...

Shi'Ann is one of nine siblings, so it was always hard to stand out in her family. The big singer in her family was her father, Ricky. He was a gospel singer and would travel to different churches to sing. When she was little her dad would teach her music scales and by the time she was 4, she was singing around the house. At age 7, she started singing in church with her Dad and eventually he set u...

Anthony is a 17-year-old high school senior from Fontana, Calif., and has been gigging since he was 11 years old. Anthony's shows range from local restaurants to the Whiskey a Go-Go on the Sunset Strip. Anthony's musical journey has become a family affair as his dad plays in his band, his sisters help him pass out flyers and his brother is the videographer. Anthony's father, Alex, has worked in th...

Chris is a worship leader by day and a drag queen by night. He grew up singing in the church because his mom was a Pentecostal preacher, but being gay he never quite felt he could express his true self until he discovered drag. His drag persona is a gorgeous sassy woman named Nedra Belle. He performs weekly at the West End Lounge, hosting and singing live. Two years ago he had the opportunity to s...

Whitney grew up in Tulsa singing in the church and playing in different Christian bands. After college, Whitney moved to Los Angeles to pursue her music career. Realizing that she wanted to reach a bigger audience, she started playing mainstream music. Unfortunately, the stress of trying to make it alone in Los Angeles sent Whitney into depression and anxiety. She started experiencing frequent pan...

Karen grew up in the church and lived in Mexico until her family moved to Texas when she was just 4 years old. Her childhood wasn't easy and when her parents later got divorced, Karen and her older brother, Erick, stayed with their mom. Erick quickly became her rock and father figure and helped shape her interest in music by introducing her to different genres. Erick eventually left home to join t...

Selkii was born and raised in South Africa and has always loved music and the ocean. From scuba diving to surfing, she could always be found in her wetsuit, which is where she gets her nickname "Selkii," meaning Seal. She found a way to combine her love for the ocean and music by performing gigs on cruise ships. She met her husband on board and after getting married, she decided to take a break fr...

Kayslin's interest in music comes from her parents, who both pursued music in their youth. At 9, Kayslin shocked everyone when she sang Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" at a karaoke bar. At 10, she was named the Child Star of Tomorrow at the Apollo Theater in New York. Outside of her musical pursuits, Kayslin keeps herself busy with school and a local horse rescue where she volunteers. If you could s...

Betsy's mom passed away when she was only 9 and she stepped up to provide the strength her family needed. It wasn't until college that Betsy felt free enough to explore her interests. She came out to her family and started singing in her brother's band, which toured nationwide. She later fell in love and started a family, but became a single mom when things with her girlfriend did not work out. Be...

Rebecca got involved in singing competitions in the fifth grade and after placing several times, she became a local standout. Rebecca's grandmother encouraged her to pursue music and was her biggest supporter. Sadly, she recently passed away, but Rebecca plans to honor her grandmother's memory by continuing to sing. Rebecca currently plans to go to college and spends her time singing at her church...

Presley may look like a girly girl, but this tomboy at heart grew up playing soccer and loves riding ATVs and dirt bikes. At 7 years old, Presley realized that she had a talent for singing. After vocal lessons, a few years later she started singing competitively. At 11, Presley joined the girl group 5LP and got to perform for Kelly Rowland and the Jacksons. She was in the group for two years until...