Nick Hagelin has contrasted Christina Aguilera and Pharrell Williams as coaches and also handicapped the remaining Season 10 competition.
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Nick, a 28-year-old former ballet dancer from Teaneck, NJ, was eliminated during The Voice's live results show on Tuesday night instead of Paxton Ingram, who survived the "Instant Save" by less than 100 tweets.
Nick started The Voice on Pharrell's team but was eliminated during the Knockout Round. He admitted during a Thursday conference call that it was "a blow" for him emotionally and he was "pretty bummed" to go home after having invested so much time into the Blinds and Battles.
But Nick later returned to the show as Christina's only "Comeback Artist" of the season. Nick then went on to survive several more weeks of competition, winning hearts all over the world with his smooth vocals and humble, grateful attitude. He called his experience on the show an "amazing revolution."
During the call, Nick talked to Reality TV World about what it was like to be trained and guided by two coaches this season.
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"It's interesting because they really did have very different coaching styles, and that became apparent to me as soon as I started working with Christina. Pharrell is very -- at least with me -- very 'big picture.' He's full of really poignant phrases and metaphors and ways to sort of connect your artistry to yourself and your spirit and to make sure that who you are as a person is being expressed through your music," Nick said.
"So, early in the competition, that was good for me to sort of work through the jitters of being in a competition. He helped me to connect to a more authentic singing voice and open up more and not be afraid to be loud. He helped me overcome years of habits I had singing in the corners of restaurants, where I'd try not to bother people. He really helped me sort of open up."
And then Nick gained a whole new perspective on performing once he joined Christina's team.
"Coming back [on the show] to [Team] Christina, her approach is very pragmatic. And as such an incredible vocalist, Christina has the ability to give you melodies, ad libs, tell you what to sing, when not to sing. And so, immediately I came back -- and I'll be the first person to say that I was probably one of the least strong singers on her team -- I realized, 'Wow, she's going to have this very practical vocal advice for me,' that was really, really good for me," Nick told Reality TV World.
"So I think that was a great fit and a big part of why I was able to continue in the competition, just because of how much growth I was able to achieve every week working with her. She would give me these ideas and how to implement them, and it was really a wonderful experience working with both of them."
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He continued, "Another cool thing is that Pharrell is so communicative with all of the contestants, especially when you're a little further along in the competition, so he continues to bless me with his little 'Pharrellisms' and wisdom. He always had a nice thing or summary to deliver to me in a private moment backstage or on the lot pretty much after every performance. I would run into him at some point during the week and he would still impart upon me his wisdom. So I really had the best of both worlds moving through the competition."
Also during his interview, Nick summed up The Voice's Season 10 competition now that only eight artists remain.
"When you see people go home, you start realizing, 'You just have no idea how this stuff is going to play out,' and so I'm a huge fan of [Alisan Porter]'s and I think she's brought an incredible energy to this competition. She really set quite a bar. In then in the last few weeks, we've watched other people like [Laith Al-Saadi] and [Adam Wakefield] get up to the top on iTunes charts, and Adam has gotten those multipliers a couple of times," Nick told reporters.
"Adam is one of my just absolute favorites on the show for so many reasons -- as a person, as a musician -- I think he's one of the most well-rounded and deserving contestants on the show. And then I feel like Bryan Bautista is in this huge upswing right now. I think his Beyonce performance was a huge climax or moment for him."
So Nick said it's "really hard" to try to predict what's going to happen.
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"That's why we don't sit around going, 'I think you're going to win!' or 'She is going to win!' I think the competitive nature of it sort of fizzled out after Live Playoffs when half the people you were there with [go home]. It was so emotionally jarring that it's hard to get attached to any outcome after that. So ever since the Top 12, we are all kind of just rooting for each other and seeing what happens!" he admitted.
For more from Nick's interview, check Reality TV World's The Voice (Season 10) page.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski