Josie Beth Jones, a country singer from Alabama, has a twangy voice, a confident stage presence and a powerful new fan on her side: Blake Shelton.
Jones, 16, made her debut on “The Voice” Monday night during the blind auditions and quickly caught Shelton’s ear with her performance of Julie Roberts’ “Men & Mascara.”
After a little quibbling with John Legend, who also admired Jones’ rendition, Shelton nabbed the teen for his team on the NBC reality series.
“Great job,” Shelton said. “It’s always exciting to me, as the only country coach on this panel, to hear a country voice like I’ve never heard before. You just have this straight laser tone that lays out there, and the pitch is incredible. I get excited when I see the next generation of country artists who are coming along who honors the traditional-sounding country music. ... I would love to have you on my team, because the tradition of country music is important to me also. ... Please, please pick me as your coach."
Jones did, of course, following in the footsteps of other Alabama singers who’ve competed on “The Voice” under Shelton’s guidance. The list includes Dexter Roberts of Fayette, Kirk Jay of Montgomery and Red Marlow of Rogersville.
Although none of them won the competition, all made the top four during their respective seasons and performed in the finals. (Marlow placed fourth; Jay and Roberts came in third.)
Jones, who’s from Hamilton in northwest Alabama, is a student and cheerleader at Hamilton High School. She’s also a member of a country-gospel group, Crossing Dixie.
Here’s her bio from “The Voice” website:
“Josie has been performing since she was a young girl, starting in church. She’s from a small town where the only high school is an agricultural school that offers classes for the Future Farmers of America. Although she keeps up with her school duties, Josie wants to pursue country music. She performs at festivals and local fairs with her cousins in their girl group Crossing Dixie, sings in the FFA string band and recently performed at the National FFA Convention’s talent competition, where she placed in the top 15 in the nation."
Blind auditions will continue for a few more episodes on “The Voice,” followed by the battle rounds. In the next phase of the competition, contestants duet and duel with other singers from their teams.
Coaches for Season 17 are Shelton, Legend, Kelly Clarkson and Gwen Stefani. Early episodes of each season are filmed in advance.
Here’s what some TV bloggers had to say about Jones’ blind audition:
“When this Alabama 16-year-old stepped up to the mic, her vocals sparkled more brightly than her braces. The contestant that Gwen decided sounded like a 'little baby’ Stevie Nicks stretched lovely, warm notes like they were taffy, and demonstrated what Blake called ‘a straight laser tone.’ My instinct was to say that this was really, really good, but not the most exciting performance ever. However, that had been my first impression of Lauren Duski, too, and she wound up being one of my all-time favorites.” -- Charlie Mason, TVLine
“We recently posted a preview of this audition. Josie LOVES Blake and hopes he turns for her (HE DOES). She also loves country music because it’s about relationships, trucks, and fishing, which she loves to do. She and her entire family jam out. She’s got an old school type country voice. She’s like a tentative Dolly Parton. She needs a few years to get control of her instrument. John turns right away! Blake hits his button at the last minute. Much to the relief of the MAGA looking family backstage, I’m sure. Kelly compares her to Andra Day which seems to confuse Josie a little. Gwen calls her a 'baby’ Stevie Nicks. John whines that Blake harshes his ability to get country artists. Blake describes her voice as a ‘strait laser tone’ and then compliments her ability to keep country alive. But of course, Josie Picks Blake.” -- Mary Jo Santilli, mjsbigblog
“Why even have blinds for people like Josie who roll up to ‘The Voice’ saying they love country, only want to be country, and already know Blake is the one for them? John turns his chair first -- he loves Josie’s tone, and for a 16-year-old she commands the stage -- but there is no competition here once Blake hits his button. Not that Blake doesn’t deserve her: He’s excited to get a young country artist who sounds so much like traditional country and he’s ready to take her and her vibrato far in this competition. ... Josie’s favorite things are fishing, hunting, and country music -- who do you think she picked?” -- Maggie Fremont, Entertainment Weekly
If you watch: “The Voice” airs on Mondays and Tuesdays at 7 p.m. CT on NBC.