Chloe Kohanski: I came to 'The Voice' hoping for validation and reassurance I'm supposed to be singing

Chloe Kohanski, a 23-year-old from Mt. Juliet, TN, is currently a contestant on The Voice's thirteenth season on NBC.


Chloe sang "The Chain" for her Blind Audition, and Miley Cyrus, Jennifer Hudson and Blake Shelton all turned their chairs around for her. Chloe describes herself as a "psychedelic rock singer," similar to Miley's vibe, but Blake argued Miley sings "psycho rock," before pointing out that he loved the cracks and dynamics of Chloe's unique voice.

Jennifer saw a "sassy superstar" on that stage, and Miley said they have a similar range so she could pick out great songs for the singer in this competition. Jennifer, however, told Chloe that she has her own voice and can find her own lane, basically suggesting she shouldn't try to be just like Miley.

But Chloe decided to join Miley's team, which was the predictable choice for viewers watching at home.

After her audition aired on NBC, Chloe talked to Reality TV World about her expectations now that the Blind Auditions are over. Below is what she had to say.


Reality TV World: Blake said he thinks "you can be in the finale," and Miley noted she's "ready to win" the show with you. Do compliments like that add pressure because you feel like you must work harder to meet such high expectations, or do they take some of the pressure off since Miley fought so hard for you and would probably therefore be reluctant to send you home in the next round?

Chloe Kohanski: It definitely doesn't take any pressure off, but at the same time, for me personally, I kind of came onto this show looking for someone to kind of tell me that this is what I'm supposed to be doing.

I believed it for myself, but I needed some type of validation or reassurance in that. So hearing the coaches say those things, it almost put a needed pressure on myself.

I needed to know that, okay, not only am I good enough and I should be doing this, but now I'm kind of inspired to do something bigger every single time and to leave the same impression every single time, no matter how far I move forward.

Also during the conference call, Chloe talked to reporters about what she accomplished as a solo artist before her The Voice appearance.


Judging from your introductory package on the show, you haven't done a whole lot as a solo artist. If that's the case, could you talk about what type of music you envision yourself making and who your inspirations are?

Chloe Kohanski: I have been playing music for about three years now -- three or four years now -- and the first project I ever did was when I decided I want to sing, not just in terms of a choir or something, because I didn't really know if it was even possible for me.

So I auditioned to sing in a blues band. It was strictly blues music, which was kind of cool because I have a lower register voice.

I think I'll always appreciate the blues, which is also why I like Fleetwood Mac and even some of their earlier stuff before Stevie Nicks was even in the band, that kind of vibe and then also psychedelic rock and more recent rock is still influenced from blues.

So I feel like for me, personally, when I envision myself doing solo work, I want to kind of have a combination of the emotion and the desperation that blues music has but in a modern way. I think it's something that people kind of tap into, but I don't know if it's been done the way that I want to do it.


And I don't even think I really know what it is yet, but I think this show is helping me kind of figure it out. I want it to be something that everybody enjoys, not just a small group of people. Because I feel like nowadays, blues rock and Americana is a niche and it's not everybody's thing.

And I kind of wanted to be more relevant to all people.  I don't know if that makes sense, but I think with my age and the fact that I'm a girl and it's not really typical for -- I think people don't expect me to sing the way that I do -- so I want to kind of, I don't know, I just want to keep going down the path that I'm going because I feel like it's kind of special in a way.

To read more interviews with The Voice's Season 13 contestants who survived their Blind Auditions, click here for Reality TV World's show page.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski