Emily Earle

Colorado Springs native Emily Earle, a graduate of Pine Creek High School, will perform on NBC’s reality singing competition “The Voice” this week.

"The Voice" airs on NBC from 7 to 9 p.m. Monday and 7 to 8 p.m. Tuesday. NBC wouldn't confirm which night Earle would make her appearance but after not being featured in Monday night's episode, chances are good Earle will be on Tuesday night.

Earle survived the program’s rigorous tryouts to make it to the show’s blind auditions. During the blind auditions, the decisions from the celebrity musician coaches are based solely on voice and not on looks. The coaches hear the artists perform, but they don't get to see them thanks to rotating chairs. If a coach is impressed by the artist’s voice, he/she pushes a button to select the artist for his/her team.

At this point, the coach’s chair will swivel so that they can face the artist. If more than one coach pushes their button, the power then shifts to the artist to choose which coach with whomen they want to work. If no coach pushes their button, the artist is eliminated from the competition. Once the teams are set coaches develop their team of artists, giving them advice and sharing secrets of their success.

While Earle wasn’t allowed to tell us the results of her blind audition, I’d be surprised if at least one judge doesn’t select her for a team after viewing video performances on her website (emilyearle.com). Having a strong resume doesn’t hurt her chances.

After graduating from Pine Creek, Earle attended the Berklee College of Music in Boston, graduating in three years with a major in Songwriting Performance. From there she went to New York and interned at Warner Music and also performed in the subway to earn money.

Earle, who primarily sings and writes country/pop music, moved to Nashville in the spring and pays the bills by working as a nanny for her aunt and uncle. Prior to her move a friend asked if he could send some of her YouTube videos to casting directors for “The Voice.” After not hearing anything for a couple months, Earle figured nothing would come of it. But soon after arriving in Tennessee she received a call from NBC and has worked her way through several auditions to get a chance to perform in front of celebrity judges CeeLo Green, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Christina Aguilera.

“I hope to become a better person and grow,” said Earle when asked about what she hopes to take away from her experience on “The Voice.” “One thing I’m not great at is playing cover songs. It’s a really big challenge for me because I have to become more of a performer than just a girl with a guitar. It helps me to become a better performer and singer overall because sometimes you have to sing things you’re not comfortable with. It’s a whole different aspect of performing. Becoming a better performer helps me become a better writer. Helping me understand the emotions of another writer helps me structure my own songs by looking at lyrics through a different perspective.”
- The Colorado Springs Gazette - written by TERRY TERRONES

Nashville's Emily Earle sings during blind auditions on NBC's "The Voice." Earle advanced to the next round as part of Team Cee Lo. (Photo by: Tyler Golden/NBC)

Emily Earle recently moved to Nashville to nanny for her famous folk-rocker uncle, Steve Earle, while pursuing her music and songwriting.

But, if all goes well, she may spend the next few months performing on national television as a contestant on NBC’s “The Voice.”

Earle made it through the first round of blind auditions this week with her rendition of the Johnny Cash classic “Ring of Fire.” She now goes on to compete as part of Team Cee Lo Green. She chose him over country judge Blake Shelton, because she thought Cee Lo could help her become a better performer and move her beyond just a “girl behind the guitar.”

On a previous episode, Columbia, Tenn.-based act 2Steel Girls — a country singing duo comprised of Allison Steel and daughter Krystal Steel —advanced as part of Team Blake.

Country is a tough genre to bring to a competition show like this, Earle said in a telephone interview on Wednesday, because fans are either “obsessed with it” or they hate it. The key to success, Earle said, is to have diversity and take country across genres.

“Johnny Cash wasn’t just a country artist,” Earle said. “He broke boundaries, and that’s what I would like to bring.”

Originally from Colorado Springs, Colo., Earle left home at age 18 to pursue her music. After a few years attending Berklee College in Boston, she moved to New York City where she spent her days playing on the underground train platforms in the subway and her nights performing in bars and clubs.

In March, she came to Nashville to work for her uncle. Earle said she grew up listening to her uncle’s music, and now that she lives in the same town as the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, he is “so generous with his advice.”

“He’s definitely a big influence,” she said. “… I would love to be as good as he is in terms of writing some day.”

Next up for Earle on “The Voice” is the battle round, where the coaches pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together in front of a studio audience. After the vocal battle, the coach chooses which of his/her singers will advance to the next round of competition. In a new twist this season, the losing artist is available to be stolen by another coach.

Should the singer advance, they head to the brand-new knockout round and then to the live performance shows.

“The Voice” airs at 7 p.m. Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC.
- The Tennessean written by Jessica Bliss