What is it like to audition for the Voice on NBC? In 2016, I decided to see for myself!
It all started when my family and I used to watch the singing competition show on NBC. The contestants and their talent always inspired me.
Singing has always been one of my passions
I graduated high school in Pennsylvania about 6 months prior. I was missing the exhilarating feeling that came when performing with my A Cappella group called the Choraliers. I sang in this group for half of Junior year and all of Senior year. For the first time, I felt like I belonged to something, and that my voice literally did matter. There were only 15 of us in the group to cover all 4 parts: Soprano, Alto, Tenor, and Bass. I am an alto.
We would perform at school choir concerts, Christmas parties, churches, and even at graduation/commencement at the end of each year. We had rehearsal after school every Tuesday and Thursday.
My confidence levels in high school (and all through my life, really) had always been very low. My oldest sister had been a part of the Choraliers all 4 years in high school. I was too embarrassed to audition to get into the group as a freshman, but when Junior year rolled around, I had a “now or never” realization. When another member backed out of the group after Christmas break, the director opened the spot for auditions – a female vocalist spot. I thought “What the heck, why not?” and signed myself up for an audition.
About 20 other girls from the choir auditioned for that one open spot. I auditioned with the song “This is Me” by Demi Lovato (yes, the one from Camp Rock) and I was so shy. I never thought I’d get the spot, but I was proud of myself for trying! The anticipation was brutal as I watched other girls go in and come out of their auditions, and I felt stupid for thinking somehow I could sing better than them.
When the director finally decided on the person she wanted in the group, she waited until the next day in homeroom to announce it. Everyone in choir had homeroom in the choir room. In front of everyone, she announced that the person that earned the spot was… Me!! I was completely shocked! I wanted this so badly but was so hard on myself that I convinced myself not to get my hopes up.
Let me give you this disclaimer: I was NOT told that I sang better than everyone else. I WAS told that my voice and skills would work well in a group to blend together and sound united, which is why I got the spot. So for the next year and a half, until our last performance at our own graduation in 2015, I sang my heart out in the Choraliers group, going on to audition for solos and getting those, too!
Fast forward to 2016…
High school was over. College music groups were much more competitive and I didn’t think I had what it takes… so I didn’t even try.
By January of 2016, I was looking for opportunities to join something, anything that had to do with singing and performing, so I could continue to grow my confidence and bloom!
Season 9 of the Voice had just wrapped up, and I thought it might be fun to be on the show! I looked on the NBC website for the next Open Call dates. At that time, they used to have Open Call auditions in person, but now they do it virtually (since COVID in 2020, I believe…). There was an Open Call day in Philadelphia on February 20th. It felt like it was meant to be! I created my artist account on the NBC casting page and gathered all of the details for my audition.
I received an email with my Artist Audition Pass that would grant me entrance into the Open Call. For a month, I practiced my chosen audition songs. They told me to pick two songs: one initial audition song, and a second song for a call back from the judges.
My first song choice was “Lego House” by Ed Sheeran. The vocals in this song are within my alto range, and I felt like no one else would be singing it in their auditions.
My next choice was “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. I picked this song for the same reasons, it was within my vocal range, and I liked it.
The Day of the Audition
My audition was at 7 am, and I lived 1 hour away from Philadelphia… so it was a very early morning. And it was cold!!! Back then, I used Snapchat to document the experience, so I’ll leave that below for your viewing (but please excuse the poor quality). 😁
The day started at 4:30 am. I had a sore throat, so I made myself some tea with lemon and honey for the road.
By 5:12 am, my parents, younger brother, and I were on our way to Philly. I love the way the city skyline looks at sunrise, so I couldn’t help but take pictures of it.
My dad and brother went off to Delaware because my oldest sister was moving there that same day. My mom stood in line with me, waiting to get into the Pennsylvania Convention Center. We waited for at least two hours in the cold. It felt like the line would NEVER end. I took pictures of the endless line on the corner of Arch Street and North 13th Street behind the convention center.
By the time we wrapped around the building, we were finally able to enter. However, I was not a minor, so my mom was not able to accompany me into the rest of the process. We said goodbye and I continued waiting for 2-3 more hours. Too shy to talk to anyone, I kept to myself and could only think about how nervous I was. The other candidates were socializing and even practicing their songs. “Let It Go” by James Bay and “Lost Boy” by Ruth B were the most popular audition songs that day.
We were all ushered into a waiting area and put into groups of 10. Among the candidates, we had a little private concert as people practiced and asked each other for feedback.
After more waiting, they finally selected my group and we were taken to a smaller room. There were three judges (not celebrities) sitting at a banquet table and two rows of 5 chairs facing each other. The other contestants and I sat in the chairs facing each other. One by one, we were called to perform our audition as the judges and other contestants listened and watched.
The judges were very stoic and provided no feedback at all. They call a name, that person stands to state their name and sing, and then sits down.
If they liked you, they’d call your name after all 10 candidates were finished and you would stay to perform your second song after everyone else left.
When they called my name, I stood up and turned to face the judges, with the other candidates on my left and right sides. I stated my name and the name of the song I’d be singing. They gave me 30 seconds to complete my audition from first note to last. As I began to sing, I had a terrible realization that Lego House has a LOT of backtracking without lyrics… Each time I had practiced, I played the track along with my voice. The audition doesn’t allow that — you can bring an instrument to play or go fully A Cappella. With the pauses between lyrics and my nerves making me shaky, this was the WORST AUDITION OF MY LIFE.
As you can imagine, they did not call my name. I was dismissed along with EIGHT of the other candidates. Only one girl from our group was asked to remain for a second audition.
I was devastated. Completely crushed.
and THEN I found out that there are like six (more or less) auditions that you have to pass before you can even MAKE IT to the show’s Blind Auditions. I didn’t even make it through the first round. I was so disappointed in myself… Eventually, I found my mom outside and we went out for lunch.
What I learned…
Unfortunately, there is no happy ending to this story. I plan to try again, but each time I look, Open Call dates have just passed by. For example, the most recent open call was January 25, 2025. I will keep my eyes peeled and hopefully make it to the next one. It has been 9 years since that day, and I have since enrolled in voice lessons and taken some college courses on singing.
An opportunity like this is not going to solidify your chances of being a big musician. I found that it was more helpful to form connections with other artists and learn from each other. I plan to try again soon and hope to have another awesome experience with the many talented people out there.
Would you ever consider auditioning for any competition shows?
Leave a Reply