Q & A: The Voice’s Team Adam and Team Christina

Last Monday on The Voice, coaches Adam Levine and Christina Aguilera made some big moves during the blind auditions. Levine picked up four members for his team – Chris Cauley, Katrina Parker, Nathan Parrett, and Pip. Christina picked up two – Geoff McBride, along with the first-ever MC on The Voice, Moses Stone.

The new additions to Team Adam and Team Christina spoke with various media outlets earlier this week about their experience on the show so far, picking one coach over the other, and if they feel the blind audition element worked to their advantage.

You have a lot of new fans now, not just on Twitter, but you have some celebrity followers interested in you guys, as well. How does it feel to have a new fan base, including celebrities?

Nathan Parrett: The support on Twitter is fantastic. And people are directing to YouTube, where I have videos also. And that’s been a big blessing. It’s been great.

Moses Stone: 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 with you and your performance, and therefore you can be engaging with them and really build your following.

And as an artist, that’s what we all look for. We look to build that following and build that true connection and build a loyalty within our fans. So, it’s been amazing. And the support from celebrity followers , it’s overwhelming.

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 really get to know all of us as artists.

Moses, The Voice is generally known as a singing competition. So what made you take a brave step into going there with a rap act?

Moses Stone: I think it was definitely a brave and bold move for myself. But I think, you know, it’s definitely time for hip-hop to actually be recognized in a lot of the competitions that [are] out right now. Not really many outlets for hip-hop artists to really showcase their talents.

And I feel that, you know, the show is technically called, The Voice, but I feel that with every song and every artist, it’s based on lyrics, and it’s based on emotions. It’s based on the connection with the audience. And I feel that rapping is the same thing. It’s poetry. And it’s a certain cadence and a person’s tone and their delivery and in the way they speak, and the way they protect themselves that it’s the fame that’s using your voice and singing.

And nowadays, everything is all built together. And hip-hop is definitely a big part of music in the genre. So personally, I just felt it was time to really just step up and do something different and really just bring it to the forefront. You know, I really want to represent hip-hop. I was to represent pushing the boundaries and pushing the envelope between our artists. So, that’s why I really picked the move to just come out and audition. And it was the night I got picked by my amazing coach, Christina. And I’m truly honored and truly blessed and happy to be on her team.

And for Geoff, we wanted to know being that you’re 51 years old, 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 opportunities you’ve had in performing music that led up to The Voice?

Geoff McBride: I’ve had the opportunity to be on the stage with some of the best. And 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.

You know, the first go-around doesn’t always turn out the way entertainers expect it to go. And we know how fickle the industry can be sometimes. You can get thrown under the bus. And I feel like with me, that situation arrived. I jumped on it, I rode the bus, but now I’m ready to ride it and rise to the top.

And The Voice is a great, great, great venue for that. I have much respect for the coaches, the producers, the whole show, and every talent there. You know, to me everyone walks away a winner simply because of the way the show is handled.

Katrina, what went through your mind when Carson Daly came to your office with the invite?

Katrina Parker: God. I wouldn’t say anything coherent went through my mind. I mean, it was a complete shock. I was giddy, first of all, because I mean, obviously at that point, I realized what her was there for. And beyond that, I was just in shock.

And then when my co-workers came around the corner and everyone was clapping, it was just a ridiculous moment. I don’t think I’m ever going to have one quite like that again.

And you recently got over an illness. Can you tell us how it felt to be back on stage singing?

Katrina Parker: You know what? It was amazing and terrifying all 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 was, because I didn’t expect the amount of sheer panic that I was going to have when I stepped onto the stage.

And I did have a bit of a panic attack. I was very nervous. You can hear it in my voice when I’m singing. But, you know, once it was over, it was like, “Okay, you know, I can do this again. I can get back into this game.” So, it was, again, wonderful and terrifying all at the same time.

Pip, you had the challenge of getting to actually select which judge you wanted to work with since you got all four to turn around for you. Other than the fact that Adam was the first to turn, why did you select him?

Pip: Honestly in the end, he sold himself the best. 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 other judges did do that. So, I think that was probably the main selling point, that he could give me constructive criticism.

Geoff, what was it about Christina that made you choose her over Cee Lo?

Geoff McBride: My decision came down basically to the one 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 if I walked on the stage, and I wasn’t exactly what he wanted, then I wouldn’t have the opportunity. I was shocked that he turned around.

I chose Christina simply, because she turned around from the beginning. She was there till the end. And that’s what I really based my decision on.

Chris, I wanted to talk a little bit about your arrangement of “Grenade,” because I thought it was just really great. And I was wondering if [the arrangement] was solely your idea or if it was more of a collaboration with the band. Also, going into the competition, did you know which coach you wanted to work with?

Chris Cauley: Awesome. First of all, thank you so much for that compliment. I’m still getting used to this. But yeah, that actually was my idea, as far as the arrangement, and well, to be honest, I went into it wanting to do it just acoustic, because I didn’t want to trust anybody else with the arrangement. But obviously, The Voice Band, as you hear every week, is the best band in the business. And they just took it to a whole other level. So, I would be nothing without those guys. And it’s unfortunate that they don’t step out more, because I owe them, you know, all the credit their way.

And as far as picking Adam, I actually went into it hoping he would turn around. And true story, I guess, 4-5 days before blind auditions, I actually had a dream that I was hanging out at Adam’s house at his pool. And I don’t even know if he has a pool. But we were just kickin’ it, you know, having a few drinks, listening to the radio. And I was like, “Okay, Adam turns around, you know, that’s a sign. [I’ve] got to go with him.”

For some of you, I’m thinking Pip in particular, there’s a big difference between your appearance and your vocal style. Do you think that the blind audition element of The Voice worked to your advantage?

Pip: Absolutely. I think that the fact that they didn’t see me kind of made it even more better when they did turn around, because it was a shock.

And I know Adam said that was one of his things that he liked the most and that I epitomized the show a little bit. So, I mean, I think everybody has unique voices and [the blind audition] was definitely a big factor in that.

Do you guys 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?

Geoff McBride: I think that it does. And I think it also adds a great twist, because once again there’s so much talent there, so much talent there.

Chris Cauley: I actually think it’s an advantage. I believe that NBC, the first go around was probably a lot of trial and error, and they weren’t really sure how to do things because, you know, it was the first season.

And so I almost think it’s an advantage for us, because they’ve already been cutting their teeth on the first season, so they have a better idea of what to do with us, as far as production, as far as promotion. And we are definitely seeing the benefits of that today with none of us getting any sleep and our Twitter and Facebook blowing up. So, we’re definitely seeing the benefits of that.

And I know that, you know, speaking for all of us, we’re just incredibly thankful to be a part of season two.

The Voice’s next round of blind auditions air tomorrow night, Monday, February 20 at 8 p.m. on NBC.