Atlanta R&B singer Kara Tenae muscled her way past the Knockout rounds last week and has made the top 24 on the latest season of “The Voice.”
During that Knockout round that aired last week, Tenae took a nearly 20-year-old hit song she enjoyed as a teen by JoJo called “Leave (Get Out)” and molded it into her own, giving it added depth and nuance.
“The way you told the story was brilliant,” said Niall Horan, a rival coach. “And the way you played around the backing vocals on the track were phenomenal.”
Tenae’s coach Gwen Stefani chose her over two other teammates because she felt Tenae sold the lyrics so well.
The 34-year-old artist related to the breakup aspects of the song because she had been in a relationship for four years. “”I had to let go,” she said on the show. “It was tough, but look at me now!”
Tenae, a Riverside, California, native who now lives in Hampton has now made it through three rounds. She will compete for the top 12 spots in the fourth round, which begins Tuesday, Nov. 21, and runs through Tuesday, Nov. 28. It’s unclear when her pre-taped performance will air.
Only once the show gets to the top 12 will it go live and the American public will get to vote.
When she was younger, Tenae was part of a girl group for more than three years that got a record deal but not hits. “Things got pretty dark after we broke up,” she told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in an interview. “I didn’t know what to do. It was my life and it just broke me.” For a time, she sang background, working on the “Sparkle” soundtrack with Whitney Houston before she died.
Last year, she decided to move to metro Atlanta to be closer to her mom and get a fresh start on her career. “The city is very different from L.A. I really appreciate the Southern hospitality here,” she said. “I have gotten to network and meet so many people. I feel supported.”
As is often the case with “The Voice,” the producers found Tenae. “I had just put out a debut EP,” she said. “I had some visuals along with them. A producer reached out to me via Instagram. I wasn’t quick to respond. I’ve had so many different experiences where it doesn’t go anywhere. She was very adamant. I finally said yes and it progressed from there.”
Of the songs “The Voice” had on a list of cleared songs, she chose Ella Mai’s “Boo’d Up” for her initial audition in part because she had previously covered it on her YouTube channel so she was already familiar with it.
Three of the four coaches turned. She went into the competition split between Stefani and John Legend as a coach. Legend was the only coach to not turn his chair. So that simplified her decision.
Stefani also said all the right things: “I think I’m good at helping people find the emotion of the actual song but also showcase their talent. You have so much style. You got swag. You got personality. You got stage presence.”
Tenae said Stefani, a fellow California girl, was a good fit for her and appreciates her maternal instinct.
“She has very universal appeal,” she said. “I really respect that. Even though I am R&B, I can be universal, too. I’ve learned so much from her just as far as different ways to use my voice and improve my style. She really understands me as an artist.”
IF YOU WATCH
“The Voice,” on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC and available on Peacock
