{"id":480073,"date":"2018-12-19T15:48:08","date_gmt":"2018-12-19T22:48:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/?p=771359"},"modified":"2018-12-19T15:48:08","modified_gmt":"2018-12-19T22:48:08","slug":"chevel-shepherd-on-her-big-voice-win-i-was-ecstatic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/music-news\/chevel-shepherd-on-her-big-voice-win-i-was-ecstatic\/","title":{"rendered":"Chevel Shepherd on Her Big \u2018Voice\u2019 Win: \u2018I Was Ecstatic\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/12\/GettyImages-1074387152.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\"\/><\/div>\n<p>\u201cI wanted to choose Blake [Shelton] from the get-go, but something inside my gut was telling me to go with Kelly [Clarkson], so I had to listen to that,\u201d <em>Voice<\/em> winner Chevel Shepherd tells <em>Rolling Stone<\/em> of choosing her coach. Now, as the titleholder of the show\u2019s 15th season, she\u2019s glad she did. Following Tuesday night\u2019s finale, Clarkson, the newest <em>Voice<\/em> coach, officially earned back-to-back victories, with her mentorship of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-features\/youngest-ever-voice-winner-brynn-cartelli-on-her-big-victory-628314\/\">season 14 winner Brynn Cartelli<\/a>, and now Shepherd.<\/p>\n<p>In this season\u2019s pool of contestants, Shepherd proved herself to be a tough contender. The raspy-voiced singer stunned <em>Voice<\/em> judges with her renditions of old-school country hits like Loretta Lynn\u2019s \u201cYou\u2019re Lookin\u2019 at Country,\u201d and modern classics like Kacey Musgraves\u2019 \u201cSpace Cowboy\u201d and LeAnn Rimes\u2019 \u201cBlue.\u201d The New Mexico\u2013born singer was even admiringly dubbed \u201ccountry Tinkerbell\u201d by Clarkson, who joined <em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/t\/the-voice\/\" id=\"auto-tag_the-voice\" data-tag=\"the-voice\">The Voice<\/a><\/em> as a coach last season.<\/p>\n<p>During the blind auditions, Clarkson initially praised Shepherd for her vocal resemblance to Dolly Parton, even acknowledging that she saw herself in the 16-year-old singer: \u201cOne main reason I do want to work with you after turning around and watching is that I was just like you when I was young and you were in your head a lot.\u201d Later in the competition, Clarkson went as far as to donate a song originally written for her \u2014 \u201cBroken Hearts\u201d \u2014 to the teenage prot\u00e9g\u00e9. \u201cOriginally, Kelly was going to put it out but she didn\u2019t think she was right for it,\u201d recalls Shepherd. \u201cI feel honored just to know that she thought I was the right person to sing that song.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The morning after her <em>Voice<\/em> victory, Shepherd spoke with <em>Rolling Stone<\/em> about the best advice she received from Clarkson, her original single \u201cBroken Hearts\u201d and her dream collaborations.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/9M-9irrzl6E?version=3&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;autohide=2&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>What was your initial reaction when you won<\/strong> <strong><em>The Voice<\/em><\/strong> <strong>on Tuesday night?<br \/><\/strong>I was trying to process it all. It was super exciting hearing my name called whenever Carson Daly said, \u201cThe winner of <em>The Voice<\/em> is \u2026\u201d Then there was this long pause and it felt like forever, but it really wasn\u2019t that long. I was ecstatic. It\u2019s so surreal.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Last season, at 15, Brynn Cartelli became the youngest winner ever on<\/strong> <strong><em>The Voice<\/em><\/strong><strong>. You\u2019re just 16. What\u2019s it like to be one of the youngest winners of the show?<br \/><\/strong>It\u2019s super cool because how many teenagers get the opportunity to sing on <em>The Voice<\/em> stage for millions of people? It\u2019s really cool, and I\u2019m really thankful for this whole opportunity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What inspired you to audition for<\/strong> <strong><em>The Voice<\/em><\/strong><strong>?<br \/><\/strong>I\u2019ve always wanted to be on a singing competition show, and I auditioned, and I\u2019m super glad I did because here I am. I watched [singing-competition] shows, and I loved them, and I loved how <em>The Voice<\/em> is different from all of the other shows because they don\u2019t base it on your looks, they listen to your voice, and they turn if they like you. I just always wanted to be on a show like that.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/VOjy3HG1Lv8?version=3&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;autohide=2&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>As your first introduction to the judges, why did you decide to sing the Band Perry\u2019s \u201cIf I Die Young\u201d for your blind audition?<br \/><\/strong>I sang that song in sixth grade at a talent show and I just really love that song and the Band Perry. I related to the song very well, and it\u2019s been in my life for a while, so that\u2019s why I chose that song.<\/p>\n<p><strong>During your audition, Kelly told you that you reminded her of herself in the way that you\u2019re very in your head when you\u2019re performing. Did she help you shift your focus?<br \/><\/strong>She really did. I focused on so many things at once onstage during my blind audition. As the show progressed, she helped me focus on my performance as a whole and having fun and not worrying about where I have to move next or the note I have to hit next.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s the best piece of advice Kelly gave you?<br \/><\/strong>She\u2019s always told me to be myself and have fun. And no matter what happens \u2014 win or lose \u2014 to just have fun and give it your best.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Your song selections ranged from classic country, like Loretta Lynn, to country-pop, like Kacey Musgraves. Tell me about the reasoning behind your choices.<br \/><\/strong>I got to show different sides and personalities. I got to show the \u201csassy side\u201d and the \u201cfeisty side.\u201d I got to show the \u201cslow-tempo ballad\u201d side. That\u2019s my goal: to show people everything I have in store.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" type=\"text\/html\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/La_YqL1I1To?version=3&amp;enablejsapi=1&amp;origin=https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com&amp;rel=1&amp;fs=1&amp;autohide=2&amp;showsearch=0&amp;showinfo=1&amp;iv_load_policy=1&amp;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\">[embedded content]<\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Was there one performance in particular during your time on the show that you felt took you to the next level in the competition?<br \/><\/strong>I liked two: \u201cYou\u2019re Lookin\u2019 at Country\u201d and \u201cBlue\u201d because I got to yodel and show off a different aspect of my voice.<\/p>\n<p><strong>How do you see your music developing down the line in terms of genre?<br \/><\/strong>I love classic country music, so that\u2019s of course what I want to do, and I\u2019d love to put a modern twist on it as well because I love Carrie Underwood and I love Miranda Lambert.<\/p>\n<p><strong>On that note, which artists do you dream of collaborating with?<br \/><\/strong>I would love to collaborate with Loretta Lynn or Dolly Parton \u2014 even LeAnn Rimes.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s your dream for your career following the competition?<br \/><\/strong>I want to start putting out my own original country music, and I want to go around the world playing and singing for people and showing them what I\u2019m really about: performing, stories and country music.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What do you want your win to mean for other young, aspiring singers?<br \/><\/strong>I hope that it shows them that they can do it too and that they should always follow their dreams. And if you\u2019re really little and love to sing, you should pursue that. If you\u2019re older and you love to sing, you should follow your dreams and do whatever it is that your heart desires.<\/p>\n<p><strong>What\u2019s next for you after last night\u2019s win?<br \/><\/strong>Well, I\u2019m gonna go home and be a normal teenager for a bit, and thank my town and everyone for all of the support. Then I\u2019m going to start working on an album. I haven\u2019t really started writing my own songs yet, but I\u2019m definitely going to start putting something together.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.rollingstone.com\/music\/music-news\/voice-winner-chevel-shepherd-interview-kelly-clarkson-771359\/\" target=\"_blank\">via:: Rolling Stone<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u201cI wanted to choose Blake [Shelton] from the get-go, but something inside my gut was telling me to go with Kelly [Clarkson], so I had to listen to that,\u201d Voice winner Chevel Shepherd tells Rolling Stone of choosing her coach. Now, as the titleholder of the show\u2019s 15th season, she\u2019s glad she did. Following Tuesday [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-480073","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-music-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-11 15:14:42","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KQZR - The Reel","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480073","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=480073"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/480073\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=480073"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=480073"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/kqzr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=480073"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}