by Todd Betzold

 

For Season 2 of The Voice, the judges seems to be getting pickier and pickier with who they choose to turn around for...they all want to be winners as well. After the night was complete, Adam added Pip, Katrina Parker, Chris Cauley and Nathan Parrett to his team and Christina added Geoff McBride and Moses Stone to her team. They all got together today for a conference call to talk about their journey so far on The Voice.

 

Q. You all have a lot of new fans, not only on Twitter but some celebrity followers as well. How does it feel to have a new fan base, including celebrities?
A. Geoff: It is bizarre. I think we can all believe that this is happening very, very fast. The past 16 hours or so has been a rush. I know personally, I have gotten no sleep whatsoever and I'm sure everybody else can say the same. I'm having a lot of fun with it...it's silly to take it too serious. It's a reality show and I'm just having a good time.

 

Nathan: The support on Twitter is fantastic and people are directing to YouTube, where I have videos also and that's been a big blessing. As far as celebrity shout outs, I'll have to let you know when that happens, but it's been great.

 

Moses: I just want to say, as far as Twitter, it's been a huge blessing...it's been a great experience. Just to have a lot of fans and a lot of people connect to you and your performance and therefore you can be engaging with them and you can build your following and as an artist that's what we all look for. We look to build that following and build that connection and build the loyalty in our fans...it's been amazing and the support from celebrity followers is overwhelming, but I definitely think it's a beautiful experience the way it's happening right now and I think as it progresses down the line it's going to be even more beautiful and even more fans to come down and chime in and get to know all of us as artists.

 

Chris: I think it's been incredible. I think it's amazing with how quickly this show has just exploded and I'm really excited to see how things go from this point on.

 

Q. You know The Voice is known as a singing competition, so what made you take the brave step in going in there with a rap act?
A. Moses: I think it definitely was a brave and bold move by myself, but I think it's time for hip-hop to be recognized in a lot of the competitions that's out right now. There's not much for hip-hop artists to showcase their talents and the show is technically called The Voice and I feel with every song and every artist it's been on lyrics and it's based on emotion and it's been on connecting with the audience and I feel rapping is the same thing...it's poetry and it's certain cadence in a person's tone and delivery and the way they speak and the way they protect themselves and that is the same as using your voice and singing and nowadays everything is built together and hip-hop is definitely a big part of music and me personally, I thought it was time to step and do something different and get to the forefront. I really want to represent hip-hop...I want to represent pushing the boundaries and envelope between all artists. It was a blessing I got picked by my amazing coach Christina and I'm truly honored and truly blessed and happy to be on her team.

 

Q. Being that you're 51, I'm sure that your journey into music stardom has been a pretty long one with some challenges. Can you share with us some of the experiences you've had that lead you up to The Voice?
A. Geoff: The opportunity at 51 years old have been tremendous. I have had the opportunity to be on stage with some of the best. I feel like The Voice is an opportunity for me to get back out there and do what I do. It's been a while, but I always had a dream...the first go-round doesn't always turn out the way entertainers expect it to go. We know how fickle the industry can be sometimes and you can get thrown under the bus and I feel like with me that situation arrived and I rode the bus and now I'm ready to ride it and ride it to the top. I have much respect for the coaches, the producers and the whole show and every talent there. To me, everybody walks away a winner simply because of the way show is handled.

 

Q. Since you've worked with so many people over the years, how did that prepare you for this moment now?
A. Geoff: I think over the years breaking that stage...I never took it as a joke. I think that looking into the eyes of your fans and your fellow musicians knowing that you take what you do seriously...I think that's what prepared me for now because everybody I've walked on the stage with is so serious and so terrific in what they do so it made you want to be the best that you can be and be the best that you can be every time you walk on that stage.

 

Q. What came to your mind when Carson came to you office with the invite?
A. Katrina: Oh god...I don't think anything coherent went through my mind. It was a complete shock. I was giddy, first of all, because obviously I realized what he was there for, but beyond that I was just shocked and then when my co-workers came around the corner and everyone was clapping...it was just a ridiculous moment and I don't think I'm ever gonna have one quite like that again.

 

Q. You recently got over an illness. Can you tell us how it felt to be back on stage singing?
A. Katrina: You know what, it was amazing and terrifying at the same time. I hadn't been on a stage in three years and I guess I thought I was a little more ready than I thought I was because I didn't expect the amount of sheer panic I had when I stepped onto the stage. I did have a bit of a panic attack...you could hear it in my voice when I'm singing, but once it was over I was like, I can do this again...I can get back into this game. I'm better. It was, again, wonderful and terrifying all at the same time.

 

Q. You had the challenge of getting to select which judge you wanted to work with, seeming all four judges turned around for you. Other then the fact Adam was the first one to turn around, why did you select him?
A. Pip: Honestly, in the end he sold himself, a bit. He made it seem like he really knew what he wanted to do with me and knew where he could take me and he also critiqued me, which I really liked and none of the others did do that, so I think that was probably the main selling point...that he could give me constructive criticism.

 

Q. What was it about Christina that made you choose her over Cee Lo?
A. Geoff: My decision came down basically to the one who I thought had more interest. I remember Cee Lo saying that he was looking for a powerful female singer. I wasn't aware of who had gone on, but I knew that if I walked on the stage and I wasn't exactly what he wanted than I wouldn't have that opportunity. I was shocked that he did turn around, but I chose Christina simply because she turned around in the beginning and she was there until the end and that's really what I based my decision on.

 

Q. And how excited are you to work with Christina, who her herself is known for having a beautiful, strong voice and huge vocal range much like yourself?
A. Geoff: Very, very excited to work with Christina. I think that the journey is just beginning, so we'll see what's in store.

 

Q. I wanted to talk about your arrangement of "Grenade" and it was just really great. Was that more of your idea or was that a collaboration with the band? And did you know going into the show which coach you wanted to work with?
A. Chris: First of all, thank you for that compliment...wow...I'm still getting used to this (laughs). That actually was my idea, as far as the arrangement. To be honest, I went into it wanting to be just acoustic because I didn't want to trust anyone else with the arrangement, but obviously The Voice band, as you can hear every week, is the best band in the business and they just took it to a whole other level. I would be nothing without those guys and it's unfortunate they don't get to step out more because I owe all the credit there way. As far as picking Adam, I actually went into it hoping he would turn around. True story, four or five days before going to audition I had a dream that I was hanging out at Adam's house in his pool and I don't even know if he has a pool, but we were just kicking it...having a few drinks, listening to the radio. Okay, Adam turned around and that's a sign and I gotta go with it.

 

Q. Some of you, Pip in particular, there's a big difference between your appearance and your vocal style. Do you think the blind audition style of The Voice works to your advantage?
A. Pip: Absolutely, the fact that they didn't see me kinda made it even more better when they did turn around and it was a shock. I know Adam said that was one of the things that he liked the most. I think everybody has unique voices and that was definitely a big factor

 

Q. Do you think that the fact that the show was so popular in its first season adds to the pressure of the competition, or is that not really a factor?
A. Geoff: I think that it does. I think it also adds a great twist because there's so much talent there.

 

Chris: I think it's an advantage. Obviously the first go-round there was a lot of trial and error and they weren't really sure how to do things because it was the first season. I almost think it's an advantage for us because they already had the first season, so they have a better idea of what to do with us as far as production and promotion and we are definitely seeing the benefits of that today with none of us getting any sleep and Twitter blowing up and Facebook blowing up, so we're definitely seeing the benefits of that and we're thankful to be a part of it.

 

The Voice airs Mondays at 8/7c on NBC.

 

(Image courtesy of NBC)

 

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