Confidence and lightheartedness shine in the air as Lindsey McCumber walks onto the stage. It was opening night, and “Love You Didn’t Do Me Right” played in the background while she bursts into song. It was perfect. She was perfect. The crowd went wild.
All of her shows and smaller auditions have led to this. In March of next year, McCumber sets off to New York City, auditioning for the next season of “The Voice.” She will be singing a country song from Carrie Underwood or Martina McBride but McCumber is not sure exactly what song yet. McCumber believes thinks their songs make her voice sound mature and softer.
“I am always self-conscious when it comes to performing, as most artists are because they can find flaws easily in their voice, but I felt confident as if I was entering a new stage in my career, or pre-career,” McCumber said.
Season by season, McCumber thinks that “The Voice” is getting bigger. That is why she wants to audition. She also likes the idea of how they choose their singers, focusing on their voice and not their appearance.
According to the NBC website for “The Voice,” judges Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton travel the country to audition thousands of people. As the singers audition, the coaches listen with their backs turned to the stage. As each performer sings, coaches signal they wanted a singer by pushing a button, turning their chairs around and revealing the artist. If more than one artist wants the singer, the singer gets to choose which team he or she wants to be on. If only one judge turns around, he or she is on their team.
Christina Aguilera is a role model to McCumber and her favorite judge. “She is not perfect when she sings, and she sounds real. That is the kind of singers that I admire. There was one time when she sang about her mother and started crying, you could see how it meant a lot to her.”
Before she auditions for “The Voice,” McCumber will perform her pre-show rituals including sucking on lemons, limes, and oranges. The citrus helps the lubrication in her throat, helping her sing. Then she will sing her lowest range all the way to her highest range repetitively. She will cope with her nerves by telling herself “I’ve worked really hard on this performance. I have spent a lot of time making it perfect.”
McCumber’s advice to everyone who wants to fulfill their talents is “to work on them all the time. Practice and practice and be patient. If you are singing, your voice won’t be to its fullest potential until around 25, it is always changing so don’t be afraid to get on stage and be in front of a bunch of people.”
“[Lindsey] is extremely gifted and very talented. She has a strong and very powerful voice. I think she has great potential,” fine arts teacher Kim Brueggemann said.
Meredith Haggerty is a reporter for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com.