by Gina Scarpa

 

When Jeff Jenkins stepped out onto the stage last week on The Voice, he carried some extra emotion with him. It was the first time that the singer from Nashville would perform since his mother passed away. His rendition of "Bless The Broken Road" got all four coaches to turn around, an impressive feat, and he ultimately decided to go with Adam Levine. Today, we spoke to Jeff in an exclusive interview about his experiences on The Voice.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: When did you first start singing?
A. Jeff: When I was 7 years old, I sang at my sister's high school at their prom/fashion show. I loved getting up in front of everyone. It's a rush.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: How did you end up trying out for The Voice?
A. Jeff: I go to school in Nashville. All of my friends sing or play or do something. They're always finding out about auditions. A good friend of mine let me in on the auditions. I went and looked it up and thought it was an awesome concept. I flew out for the last audition in Seattle.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: You said during your audition that it was the first time your mom wouldn't be there to see you sing. What was going through your mind before you stepped out on the stage?
A. Jeff: She had always been there to push me and remind me to do things. She helped me tweak my song or my performance. Going up there without that was kind of nerve-wracking and sad but then, knowing that I was doing that for her and taking that responsibility on my own was a great feeling.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Cee-Lo and Adam turned around at the same time. Later, you got Christina and at the very end, Blake turned around. What did it feel like to have all four coaches say they wanted to work with you?
A. Jeff: It was overwhelming in a fantastic way! I was just hoping for one so I could move on. The fact that all four of them turned around was amazing.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Every coach made convincing arguments to work with you. I thought for sure you'd go with Blake. What made you pick Adam?
A. Jeff: Adam's selling point was that he really fought for me. After every other coach spoke, he kept saying, "Oh actually, you should pick me and this is why." My mom always said to go with your gut and I remember what she told me.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: What do you feel like you need to do from here in order to step up your game?
A. Jeff: I really think that I need to put my feelers out in the other types of music. I'm obviously always going to be a country singer. I want to be one that's able to cross over, though. I want to prove that I can do that. That would be really great.

 

Q. Gina, RealityWanted: Anything you want to say to your fans?
A. Jeff: I just want to say thanks. The support has been fantastic from all the fans of The Voice. I'm really thankful for all of them. Keep writing me on Facebook and I'll keep responding.

 

The Voice airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

 

(Image courtesy of NBC)

 

Follow Jeff @JeffJenkins88 and Gina @ginascarpa