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Why “Flawless” Anya True’s Voice Had 2 Coaches’ “Hearts Racing”: "She's Got It All"
True, a 17-year-old from Southern California, gave up a traditional high school experience to pursue her musical dream.
One of the joys of watching NBC's The Voice is getting to meet people who eat, sleep, and breathe music every day of their lives. People like Anya True, a 17-year-old from Encinitas, California, who decided to forego a traditional high school experience (she takes classes online and gets all A's) in favor of devoting all her free time to pursuing the life of a professional singer.
"Typically, I’ll work for six hours a day, just in my room, and then I’ll spend the rest of the day either songwriting or working on my music," she said. "It was definitely a difficult choice because I’m not getting that authentic high school experience, but it’s so worth it because every ounce of free time I have I just get to do what I love. “I started doing local gigs around my town. And in New Orleans, I sung at the House of Blues, which was super cool. Then I got the chance to go to Nashville [where] I got to play at the Bluebird Cafe. I mean, Taylor Swift played on that stage and now I’m performing on this stage, which is crazy."
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True, who also plays guitar, performed Stephen Sanchez's soothing ballad "Until I Found You" during her Blind Audition, which nabbed two chair turns from Chance the Rapper and first-ever Coach duo Dan + Shay (Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney).
Watch Anya True's Blind Audition of Stephen Sanchez's "Until I Found You" on The Voice
Mooney praised True's Blind Audition as "flawless," going on to add: "I love the vulnerability. You have this kind of Olivia Rodrigo thing going on. Your voice is just phenomenal. I love all the little imperfections that you had. I felt … they were very purposeful. My heart is racing right now! We need you on our team ... We will take you from being a great singer to an amazing singer. I really think we can do that for you. I think you’ve got a shot at winning this thing."
“I loved your voice when it broke into the falsetto," continued Smyers. "It was vulnerable in a whisper tone. And then, at the end of the performance, you hit those same notes full voice and I was like, ‘She’s got it all.’"
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Chance, meanwhile, praised the singer for her "falsetto and head voice" while promising that if Anya chose to join his team, he'd let her musical identity and influences shine through in the coming weeks.
"I think what I do with all the people that come on my team is I try and lean into their influences," he explained. "This is your stage and every week, people are coming to learn more about you and see what your influences are. So I like to let people take the stage and do their thing and I would love to learn more about you."
Given that her style leans more toward country — if only Reba had turned around! — True chose a spot on Team Dan + Shay — both of whom were overjoyed to nab such a multi-talented mentee. "Her voice was so endearing," Smyers concluded. "I was so happy when we turned to see her playing the guitar. She just had a great vibe about her. I feel like she has what it takes to win it all."
