By Jamie Ruby

Part three of the blind auditions started this Monday on The Voice on NBC. During auditions this week Adam Levine chose four new members for his team: Chris Cauley, Katrina Parker, Nathan Parrett, and Pip. Christina Aguilera, however, added only two more to hers: Moses Stone and Geoff McBride.

Recently the group talked to the media about their experiences so far on The Voice.

NBC Conference Call
The Voice
Team Adam and Team Christina

Team Adam: Chris Cauley, Katrina Parker, Nathan Parrett, and Pip
Team Christina: Moses Stone and Geoff McBride

February 14, 2012


QUESTION: Chris, it's good to have another Georgia peach in the conference.

CHRIS CAULEY: Yes, it is. What's going on?

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

CHRIS CAULEY: Yeah, sure. Well I guess I'll start (unintelligible) shy and quiet. Hello. Yeah, I think it's bizarre, actually. I'm sure we all agree this is happening very, very fast, the past, I guess, what, 15 hours or so? Not even 24 hours, it's been a rush.

I know personally from experience I've gotten no sleep whatsoever. And I'm sure everybody can say the same. But me personally I'm just having a lot of fun with it. It's kind of silly to take it too serious and to blow up your head.

You know, at the end of the day this is a reality show. And well, I know personally I'm just in it to have a good time and just ride the wave and catch as many blessings as possible.

QUESTION: Okay. And then maybe Nathan can talk about his new fans and tips as well.

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.

As for the shout out I will have to let you know if that happens how I feel. But it's been great.

MOSES STONE: Hello. I just wanted to say 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.

But 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.

PIP: I think it's just - it's been incredible. I think it's amazing to see how quickly this show has just exploded. And I mean, I'm just completely overwhelmed with everything. And really excited to see how things grow from this point on.

QUESTION: Moses, The Voice is generally known as a singing competition. So what made you take the 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 it's definitely time for hip hop to actually be recognized in a lot of the competitions that's out. 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 the emotion. 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 project 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 want 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.

QUESTION: Geoff, 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 and stuff. But can you share with us some of the opportunities you've had in performing music that led you up to The Voice?

GEOFF MCBRIDE: Thank you so much once again for the opportunity to speak with you. And thanks so much to The Voice. The opportunities at 51 years old have been tremendous.

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, and the whole show, and every talent there. You know, to me everybody walks away a winner simply because of the way the show is handled.

QUESTION: Since you've worked with so many people over the years, like Gerald Levert, Aretha, it's pretty impressive. How did that prepare you for this moment now?

GEOFF MCBRIDE: I think over the years breaking that stage is - I never took it as a joke. I think that looking in the eyes of your fans and your fellow musicians knowing that you take what you do seriously - I think that's what prepared me for now.

Because everybody I've walked on the stage with is so serious and so (unintelligible) in what they do. So it made you want to be the best you can be. And that's all you can really walk on that stage and be the best you can be every time you walk on the stage.

QUESTION: So Katrina, how did it feel? What went through your mind when Carson came to your office with the invite?

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

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

QUESTION: Excellent. 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 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 it was - I did have a bit of a panic attack. I was very nervous. You know, you can hear it in my voice when I'm singing. But once it was over it was like, okay, I can do this again. I can get back into this game and better. So it was, again, wonderful and terrifying all at the same time.

QUESTION: My question is for 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 seemed 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 so.

QUESTION: 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 that 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.

But 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.

QUESTION: And how excited are you to work with Christina Aguilera, who herself is notorious for having [a] beautiful strong voice and huge vocal range, much like yourself?

GEOFF MCBRIDE: Very, very, very excited to work with Christina. I think that the journey is just beginning so we will see what's in store.

QUESTION: All right, I'm sure your family is really excited and so are we. I appreciate it.

GEOFF MCBRIDE: Thank you so much. And they are super excited, as a matter of fact no sleep last night.

QUESTION: My question is for Chris Cauley. I wanted to talk a little bit about your arrangement of "Grenade" because it was just really great.

And I was just wondering if that was something that was solely your idea or if that was more of corroboration with the band and if you knew going into this competition which coach you wanted to work with.

CHRIS CAULEY: First of all, thank you so much for that compliment as well. I'm still getting used to this.

But yes, that actually was my idea as far as the arrangement and...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 can 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 yes, four, five days before [the] blind audition I actually had a dream that I was hanging out in Adam's house at his pool. And I don't even know if he has a pool. But we were just kicking 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 got to go with him.

QUESTION: For some of you, I'm thinking of Pip in particular, there's a big difference between your appearance and your vocal style. Do you think that that 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 that was one of his things that he liked the most and that was kind of his - that I epitomized the show a little bit.

So I think everybody has unique voices and that that was definitely a big factor in that.

QUESTION: 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, you know, it was a lot of trial and error and they weren't really sure how do things because it was the first season.

And so I almost think it's an advantage for us because they've already cutting the piece, you know, 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 blowing up and Facebook blowing up. So we're definitely seeing the benefits of that.

And I know that, speaking for all of us, we're so just incredibly thankful to be part of Season Two.

GEOFF MCBRIDE: Definitely.

QUESTION: This question goes out to everyone and I'll start with Katrina. Of course last weekend we saw the passing of a great musical legend Whitney Houston. With people like her and other legends like Amy Winehouse and Michael Jackson, have any of those people inspired you on who you would like to become as an artist?

KATRINA PARKER: Absolutely, all of those artists inspire me. I mean I was a huge Amy Winehouse fan. I was a - how could you not be a Whitney Houston fan?

And we also lost Etta James this year. It's been a very sad year and every single one of those women inspired me as an artist. I feel like Etta James was a huge inspiration to me. I love the fact that her voice was so delicate and so strong and so raw at the same time. I mean it was just - I feel like it kind of encompassed everything to me that's pretty perfect about a vocalist.

So I definitely have been inspired by all the great ladies that have passed this year.

CHRIS CAULEY: I'm going to add to that, to what Katrina said. Yes, it is so sad. And in this day and age unfortunately self-admittedly I am a big cynic in the music industry today. I'm very cynical about it all. And I just miss all the great things, all of the Whitneys and the MJs and it almost seems like we don't have many of those anymore. Pop radio has just been compressed, you know, to just all kinds of different fluff beats and all kinds of things that don't necessarily connect to the true musician.

And I know you just mentioned Michael Jackson. MJ was a huge inspiration for me. As a matter of fact I made my living recently touring in a show called "Man in the Mirror" overseas, which was a Michael Jackson tribute, and I was honored to be one of the singers for that.

And we got to tour all over the world. And the past two years on the anniversary of his death I had the opportunity to sing his songs. It since sold out in houses all over the world. And it's just such an unreal experience to be a part of that.

So Michael definitely has a special place in my heart.

QUESTION: Katrina, a couple of things I wanted to ask you. First of all I wanted to make sure I was clear on the mold problem that you had, if that was in your Los Angeles apartment or if that was in North Carolina house.

KATRINA PARKER: It actually was in an apartment that I lived in in Los Angeles. Obviously I'm not going to say where it was but it was actually something where it's very hard to explain and I know it's kind of hard for people to digest. But basically I was sick for a year. I was having severe chronic fatigue, severe respiratory issues.

And after a year of suffering this and no one really knowing what was going on in terms of doctors I went to an allergist. And they discovered that I have an incredibly strong allergy to mold. And they said you've got to test your house.

So I just did home kits just to kind of see what was there and discovered that we had a lot of hidden mold, especially in the room that I was sleeping in.

So we moved out in a month, as soon as we could find a new place that was mold-free and we got rid of all of our stuff just in case, because you know they say that's what's recommended if you find mold in your house.

And it took a few months but within a year after moving my health improved dramatically. And I mean it's just - it's been incredible how much better I feel and since getting out of that situation.

QUESTION: Okay, that's good. And the other thing I wanted to ask you, because I love the concept that we could be working alongside of anyone who might have a great talent and we don't realize it. Because you mentioned that a lot of your coworkers didn't even know you sing.

Tell a little bit more about that. How surprised were some of the people? Had you told some of the people you were singing? And just what was their - were the others really surprised when they learned this?

KATRINA PARKER: You know, maybe two people knew that I had sang. No one in the office knew. And they were completely shocked. I think the first time they were made aware of it is when they rounded them up and brought them around to surprise me when Carson Daly showed up. And literally as soon as it was over everyone was - I think half of the people were still confused about what was happening and why as they were clapping and excited and no one really understood.

And immediately after that people started to look up old videos on YouTube and old songs on the Internet. And they're like "Oh my God, you really are a singer."

And it's like yes, that's what I do.

So I think they were very shocked. They had no idea and w?hat a beautiful way for them to find out. I mean, when you work in an insurance office, that's not the kind of excitement we get on a regular basis, you know? So it was great.