Arroe Collins That Voice: A Decade With The Performers On NBC's The Voice

This is Play It Forward. Real people. Real stories. The struggle to Play It Forward Episode 421 with Katie Ray from NBC’s The Voice
Katie grew up in northern California and learned all about music from her father. She would sing at coffee shops with her dad and brother and got involved in the school choir, but was always too shy to perform on her own. Katie took a long break from music and didn’t rediscover it until 2015 when she started gigging in a band as the lead singer. She later became pregnant with her son and sadly stopped performing after falling into postpartum depression. Now that she’s feeling like herself again, Katie is finally ready to get back to music on “The Voice”.

If you could share a conversation with a seed before it becomes a tree would you speak of its future fruit or would it be all things right now?

This is Play It Forward. Real people. Real stories. The struggle to Play It Forward Episode 410 with Raine Stern from NBC’s The Voice.
From a very young age, Raine had a sense of awareness that beckoned her to inspire change. As a child, she would recite detailed speeches to her family on issues that were important to her. She soon realized the powerful response that music can evoke and picked up the electric guitar, beginning her lifelong journey with songwriting. After moving to Madison from her small hometown, she was quickly picked up as a lead guitarist and sing

If you could share a conversation with a seed before it becomes a tree would you speak of its future fruit or would it be all things right now?

Jeremy grew up in a large Puerto Rican family in Queens and got his start singing at neighborhood block parties. At ten years old, his family moved to Florida and Jeremy began participating in choir at church and school. He later became a worship leader and started gaining traction in the local music scene. At 21, he got the opportunity to open for Andrea Bocelli in Germany and finally felt his career taking off. However, later that year Jeremy made the biggest decision of his life and decided to take over guardianship of his niece, since he was the most fit to care for her. He spent the next seven years solely focused on being a dad, but now that his daughter is 18, Jeremy is ready to get back to music.

If you could share a conversation with a seed before it becomes a tree would you speak of its future fruit or would it be all things right now?

This is Play It Forward. Real people. Real stories. The struggle to Play It Forward. Episode 350 with Girl Named Tom winners of NBC’s The Voice.
Girl Named Tom is the first act in the 21 seasons of “The Voice” to have four of their songs in the iTunes Top 10 at the same time. In addition, the group reached #1 twice on the main iTunes Top 200 chart with “River,” and “The Chain.” “Hits From the Road,” the group’s self-titled album that was released in February, is currently #17 on the iTunes Top Albums chart, making them the first act in the show’s history to have songs also charting in the Top 200 from their own self-released album.

Girl Named Tom was the #1 most-viewed act on YouTube this season, with 8.9 million collective views.

Hailing from a small town, this sibling trio was initially homeschooled where music became a big part of their curriculum. They enrolled in piano lessons at a young age and joined theater once they started attending public school. Despite their artistic upbringing, they all planned to become doctors, but things changed when their father was diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2017. When Bekah finished high school and the boys finished college, their father’s prognosis was still unknown, so they decided to spend more time as a family and formed their trio in 2019. Girl Named Tom is grateful for the chance to bring joy to their family and hopes to make their hometown proud on “The Voice.”

If you could share a conversation with a seed before it becomes a tree would you speak of its future fruit or would it be all things right now?

Jershika grew up singing in church, but her dad was in the military so her family moved around. Once she was in middle school they finally settled down and Jershika was able to get into music. She joined every choir she could and was thrilled to have a steady group of friends, but unfortunately her family moved again halfway through her senior year. Jershika remained focused on graduating and went on to pursue her dream of music. To make ends meet she currently works full-time as a security guard, and spends her nights and weekends gigging. Jershika has made a name for herself in the local gospel world, but is ready to leave her day job behind and work solely on her music.

If you could share a conversation with a seed before it becomes a tree would you speak of its future fruit or would it be all things right now?

Jim grew up playing in various folk and bluegrass bands and went on to become a music teacher and then a father. He taught his son how to play guitar at six years old and soon after, Sasha was joining Jim on stage at his gigs. Sasha didn’t have an easy childhood, but music was always the constant that kept him going. At the start of high school, Sasha came out as transgender. Those were difficult years, but Sasha knew with support of his family and music he could handle anything. Jim and Sasha, both songwriters, have recently become an official duo and have been playing at open mics and other local venues. Outside of music, Sasha is an avid artist and makes money selling his drawings.

If you could share a conversation with a seed before it becomes a tree would you speak of its future fruit or would it be all things right now?

Wendy was born in Memphis, Tennessee and got her start singing in church where her father was a minister. She went on to perform throughout school and joined a band in college while also doing studio work. For five years, Wendy was a signed recording artist, opened for Michael Bolton, and had a song chart on the Billboard Hot 100. When her recording contract ended, Julio Iglesias made her his duet partner and she spent the next 15 years touring with him and traveling the world. Wendy feels blessed to have lived the life she has, but at almost 30 years after the release of her first single, she’s ready for the spotlight again on “The Voice”.

If you could share a conversation with a seed before it becomes a tree would you speak of its future fruit or would it be all things right now?

Hailing from a small town, this sibling trio was initially homeschooled where music became a big part of their curriculum. They enrolled in piano lessons at a young age and joined theater once they started attending public school. Despite their artistic upbringing, they all planned to become doctors, but things changed when their father was diagnosed with a rare cancer in 2017. When Bekah finished high school and the boys finished college, their father’s prognosis was still unknown, so they decided to spend more time as a family and formed their trio in 2019. Girl Named Tom is grateful for the chance to bring joy to their family and hopes to make their hometown proud on “The Voice”

If you could share a conversation with a seed before it becomes a tree would you speak of its future fruit or would it be all things right now?

Peedy doesn't remember a time when he wasn't obsessed with Elvis Presley. His mother started playing Elvis songs for him at three years old and he went on to dress as Elvis for Halloween ten years in a row. In high school, Peedy joined musical theater and knew he was a natural entertainer. He often landed the lead roles and proceeded to compete in theater competitions throughout his school years. Outside of theater, Peedy remained on stage by gigging locally with his rock band. Peedy comes to "The Voice" hoping to inspire the younger generation with his modern spin on old school rock and roll.

If you could share a conversation with a seed before it becomes a tree would you speak of its future fruit or would it be all things right now?

Zae had a rocky start to life, but always found comfort in music. At three years old, Zae and his siblings were placed into foster care, but were eventually all adopted into one family. He started singing and as he got older he began performing around town at local coffee shops. At 16, Zae got in trouble with his school and was afraid of disappointing his parents so he ran away and tried to make it on his own by busking on the streets. He finally understood unconditional love when he came across his face on a missing person poster and decided to return home to his family. Zae now teaches music and art to kids, leads worship at his church, and is working on building a relationship with his birth mother.

If you could share a conversation with a seed before it becomes a tree would you speak of its future fruit or would it be all things right now?