by Todd Betzold

 

Last week on The Voice, Jamar Rogers battled Jamie Lono, a guy he became good friends with throughout this whole process. It was a tough battle and a difficult experience to deal with, but for Jamar it was just another battle he has to deal with in his life on his way to becoming a super star. I think he is well on his way now and he will be moving onto the live shows for Team Cee Lo. Today, we got an exclusive interview with Jamar as he talked about his experiences so far on The Voice and what this platform means to him and he also has a special message for his fans.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: What made you want to audition for The Voice?
A. Jamar: It's kind of for a two-fold reason. You have to understand, I've been a huge fan of Cee Lo Greens for a decade now and I just wanted to shake his hand even if I didn't make a team, but also I felt the need to share my story and kind of instill hope and inspire others. Whether I win or not, at least I have gotten my story out there and I feel like people are really receptive to it.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: Cee Lo is an idol of yours, so what has it been like working with him as your coach?
A. Jamar: Man, Cee Lo is even cooler in person than I ever thought he would be. A lot of people kinda mix-up the real Cee Lo with his persona and he's nothing like that. He's actually really mild-mannered...soft-spoken...he's actually very wise. Whenever he talks, I kinda just want to write it all down spits some real wisdom, but not only that, a prolific songwriter and producer...he just has really great ideas and I can't believe that I can actually call him a friend now when I was just playing his albums over and over again...it's so cool.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: That's awesome. You mentioned your back-story as well and I think really inspiring and it brings a positive message to touchy subjects that we have in our world. So, what has it been like having this platform to do that?
A. Jamar: I really feel like when you are born with a purpose and you finally realize what that purpose is...man, it just makes work so much easier. This has been a blast...it's been so much fun. I know I am talking about some pretty taboo subjects...subjects that America doesn't want to deal with and I succeeded in wanting to start a national conversation about addiction and HIV and the response that I've gotten has been overwhelmingly good. I thought people would instantly judge me...I thought people wouldn't want anything to do with me and it's been the exact opposite. I can't tell you how many emails and messages and tweets I've gotten of people just showing an insane amount of support...it's beyond my wildest dreams.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: You have auditioned for American Idol in the past, so can you tell us what this experience has been like compared to your time on Idol?
A. Jamar: I'm just in a different headspace then when I was on Idol. You have to understand, when I did Idol I was really trying to support, I can call him my brother, Danny Gokey...I've known him for years before we auditioned and he was going through such a rough time that really my main focus was on supporting him and not letting the producers know about my HIV-status. I had a lot of worries...I felt like I was so worried I couldn't focus on performing, so this time I just felt a little more freer. I'm a little bit older...I'm more settled within myself...I actually like myself, so it has just been a better experience overall. I don't want to say that Idol treated me worse...I'm not gonna poop on them or anything, I just wanna say I'm in a better space right now.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: During your battle round, Cee Lo brought in NeYo as your mentor, so what was that like working with him?
A. Jamar: Can you imagine that? That's just crazy...first of all, they kept our mentors a surprise from us, so when I walked in and just saw NeYo standing there I was like does it get any cooler? You know, I live in the south Bronx, my apartment has mice...I'm not a fancy guy at all and the fact that I got to walk in there and meet him...meet one of the greatest songwriters of our generation. If I ever get that guy to write me a song, I know that it's an instant hit. It's just cool to make that connection and also to have him recognize my talent.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: That's why I love this show...just seeing you guys go through that whole process, it's awesome as a fan to watch.
A. Jamar: Right on, man.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: For the battle, it mentioned that you and Jamie were close...had become good friends throughout the process. What was it like having to battle someone that you became so close to?
A. Jamar: I would say, by far, that was the crappiest part of this experience...it was the most emotional...I was emotionally drained after that. Jamie and I became friends right before the blind auditions and I would just encourage him whenever he was feeling down on himself...I'd tell him, come on bro, you can do this, you can do this and when he came back told me he had made a team I was super excited until he told me what team he was on...oh man, eventually we'll be competitors...I just didn't think it would happen so soon. He's very, very talented and I think he's going to go really, really, really far. He's gotten a lot of support from this as well.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: Yeah, that was a tough battle. I made it through the whole show without a tear and then when you both went backstage and broke down, I broke down as well.
A. Jamar: (laughs) That seems to be the consensus from everybody. Let me just say, I wasn't trying to make anybody cry...I was just an emotional wreck myself at the time.

 

Q. Todd, RealityWanted: Is there anything you would like to say to your friends...I mean fans?
A. Jamar: I like friends...I prefer friends over fans because I don't feel like I should have fans. I really feel like we are all in this together. My story is a story of struggle and redemption and maybe people can't relate to exactly what I am going through, but can relate to making bad decisions and having consequences to those bad decisions and if I could just tell people that you are not alone...that where you are today is not always where you are going to be if you just won't give up. That's really what I want to instill in people...giving up is never an option and thank you for watching.

 

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

 

(Image courtesy of NBC)

 

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