“Oh you’re calling from that TV show The Voice? Meh, sure I guess I’ll come to LA to sing in front of four celebrity judges and millions of viewers all over the world. Why not. I got nothin’ better to do.”
Months had gone by and I was over the wait. I was leaving it up to fate and went on with my life. At this point all the excitement had been sucked out the whole thing by these ridiculous waiting games. Just when I was about to give up on the whole thing, I got the call! It looks like I’d be heading back to LA!
This of course didn’t mean I made it to the actual Blind Audition, as cuts could still happen, but I was that much closer. I was curious to find out if I’d see any familiar faces.
Hey Roomie
This time I’d be in LA for almost a whole month! I also found out I’d have a roommate the entire time. “What?!” I wasn’t too keen on the idea, but I couldn’t really complain as I was basically getting a free vacation. Since I attended a local community college and just drove in and out every day, I never got to experience the whole college dorm thing. I guess this would serve as the college experience I never had.
I checked in and was on my way to see who my new roommate was. I stumbled into the room over my giant luggage bags and was greeted by a bleach blonde California girl – not the annoying kind, the cool kind. Her name was Megg. Luckily, we had a bunch in common and got along really well. This was going to be much better than I had anticipated.
I left my bags in the room and went to get all my info and paperwork. This time we didn’t require a chaperone, we just had to sign in and out and couldn’t be gone for longer than an hour or so. Three strikes and you’re out. They were serious about this rule.
Our hotel was situated on the infamous Ventura Blvd, where we had a lot more options to pass the time with. When I wasn’t doing something for The Voice my day usually consisted of eat, gym, eat, pool, walk around, eat, sleep. There was even a grocery store nearby, which was amazing for stocking up on snacks, water and the singer essential Throat Coat tea.
L to R: Megg, me and Sugar
After checking everything out, I headed back to the room and Megg and I chatted for a bit. Then there was a knock on the door. I opened it, and some girl was standing outside. She was there for Megg, and I was a bit confused as to who she was. Was she a part of The Voice or was she just a friend of Megg’s who came to visit?
She introduced herself as Sugar. She was another local Cali girl who was there for The Voice. I hadn’t seen either of them during the last round of auditions, because they were local to the LA area and only drove in and out for the meetings and audition. We all got along well and hung out together for the remainder of the trip.
That’s So LA
There was much more on the itinerary this time around – meetings, voice lessons, choreography, make-up, hair, wardrobe, band rehearsals, and lots of filming. We were about to get little taste of what commercial success would be like LA style! It was all really exciting, but as busy it got, I still found time for some good old-fashioned R&R.
Getting some R&R by the pool
Of course the singer circles were in full force now, and I stayed as far away as possible. Megg had the same disdain for them, and we both smirked as the volume of the singing gradually got louder. Oh well, to each their own, but I wasn’t about to lose my voice right before my Blind Audition.
Meetings
I looked forward to the meetings. It was the only hope of getting information on what was going to happen next. Then there were the legal meetings. We were separated into groups and presented with three law firms, in which we were to choose one to represent our group. All sorts of questions were asked, and I tried to pay close attention to how screwed over I was going to be after signing the contract. The Voice would basically own me for as long as I was on the show and even after I was off the show. What was my alternative though? Refuse to sign, and go home? Not a chance!
One of the many meetings
Along with production and legal meetings, there was what I like to call the “crazy test.” We were all given some sort of physiology Bubble Test to gauge our mental stability. Of course we were timed, and I didn’t get to finish but I was eager to learn what the test revealed about me. Everyone had to meet with a Physiologist who would review the test results and determine whether or not you would be a liability to the show.
You might think “Why would anyone be a liability to the show?” Well, I’ll tell you what, going through this process and being on the show is NOT for an unstable person. It is emotionally, mentally and physically draining and could cause someone to have a serious nervous breakdown if they aren’t ready for it. This show really f#@&$ with your head! If you can’t take rejection, DON’T EVER AUDITION FOR THIS SHOW! As a matter of fact, if you can’t take rejection, forget about music as a career.
Voice Lessons
The voice lessons were a pleasant surprise. I’m really glad we got them but for the Blind Audition, I’m not so sure they helped. My Blind Audition song, ZZ Ward’s Put The Gun Down, was naturally raw and emotion filled. The voice lessons had started to polish the raw character, and instead of just feeling the song, I started thinking about reaching a certain note or forming my mouth a certain way. It made me think way too much, and I felt like I lost that emotion the song really thrived on.
That said – all of The Voice vocal coaches are top notch, and I’m so grateful to have worked with them. Later in the competition they improved my singing immensely. For the Blind Audition, they got inside my head too much, which wasn’t any fault of the vocal coaches, it’s just a lot to think about before the big audition.
My favorite matcha brand Breakaway Matcha!
I did learn a whole lot about vocal health though. This was when I decided to stop drinking coffee and taking allergy medicine. Both dry you out and can affect your voice so I wanted to do everything I could to take care of my instrument. I switched to a strong type of green tea called matcha, and I’ve been drinking it ever since! I still miss coffee sometimes, but I feel immensely better off of it! Singers and non-singers alike should give it a try! My favorite is called Breakaway Matcha.
The single most important thing I learned from the vocal lessons was to always warm up your voice before singing!
Choreography
I was a little worried about this one. I had flashbacks of myself practicing break dancing and other cool dance moves in my bedroom. Those moves were best left in that bedroom a long time ago. Luckily, “choreography” was more of a “blocking” lesson – basically how the stage would be set-up, where we were supposed to stand and where to exit the stage. They did give some tips on how to make the performance more entertaining – no break dancing needed.
Make-Up
I’ve never been big on wearing make-up, and my hair was pretty easy to style – just blow dry and go. That would never fly on TV though or at least on The Voice. Because of the type of cameras they use, you had to wear a special HD foundation, so America doesn’t see every pore on your face. The make-up starts out very natural, so they can gradually build you up over the course of the show. As “natural” as it looked it was still way more make-up then I’ve ever put on my face.
Hair
The hair stylists were exactly what I had envisioned a Hollywood stylist to be. They embodied the stereotype I was hoping for, and I loved it! Unlike NYC, LA was living up to all my expectations and pre-conceived ideas of how it was out West. I’m sure any LA native would cringe if they knew what those ideas were, but for me it was just as it was supposed to be.
Wardrobe
Wardrobe was interesting and they surprisingly liked a lot of the clothes I had brought. They had racks and racks of clothes, shoes and accessories. I do like shopping, but after a while I suffer from shopper’s fatigue. This time they did the shopping for me, so no skin off my back! They even tailored my clothes to custom fit me. Not too shabby, huh? The other thing I had discovered while at wardrobe was that a couple rooms down, the cast from the TV show Parenthood hung out. I loved that show, so I thought that was pretty cool.
Band Rehearsals
The band rehearsals was where I came alive. I was in my element, and being able to rehearse with world-class musicians was even better. Paul Mirkovich, the band leader and piano player for The Voice band was super laid-back and said I had a cool voice. I was most excited about the guitar player Justin Derrico – who was P!nk’s guitar player. I’m a huge fan of P!nk so it was awesome playing with him!
One of the buildings we filmed in
Filming
I’ve never had any experience with filming, minus the silly plays my friends and I would record on my dad’s camcorder in middle school. I secretly had visions of the producers telling me “Wow you’re a real natural. You should get into acting!” Well, I never heard those words per say, but I was given plenty of encouragement. I actually really enjoyed filming and wouldn’t mind doing more of it in the future. I had make-up and hair touching me up between takes. I felt like a star already!
My Story
Remember back to Part I when I said you should know your story? Well, after some digging I realized what mine was. It wasn’t necessarily something I’d want to blast all over a major network television show, but I knew it was what helped me get here so I didn’t have much of a choice. That’s what the producers wanted, so I gave it to them. So here it goes.
I grew up in a strong Christian family, went to church every Sunday and spent a lot of free time doing churchy things. It was all I knew, but I enjoyed it and have a lot of great churchy memories.
Me at age 12 with my first guitar
I got a used acoustic guitar for Christmas when I was 12, took lessons and started playing in my church’s band. Years went by, we switched churches, but I continued to play guitar in the church band and stayed pretty involved in church activities.
There was something that I had always struggled with though. I always felt different from others, and couldn’t shake the feeling of being attracted to other girls. I never told anyone because I grew up thinking being gay was wrong and sinful. I guess it would be something that I’d just have to struggle through.
There was a point that I had confided in a good friend of mine who also struggled with the same thing. I thought, “Well maybe I’m not so different.” until one day I was called in for a meeting with my pastor.
He had found out through “my friend” that I was involved in a relationship with another woman, and because that church believed that was a sinful lifestyle, I was not allowed in any leadership role in the church – including being in the church band. I did have an option, however. I could go to counseling to be “fixed”, and once I had successfully completed counseling I could return to being in the church band. That was the last day I ever stepped foot in that church.
Playing guitar in the church band
I was devastated, but didn’t realize how much that affected me until being asked to talk about it on The Voice. They have a way of pulling things out of you. Because church and music were so intertwined for me, once I was rejected from the church I stopped playing music too.
Years went by. The wound healed, but the scar was still there. I played my guitar every now and then in my bedroom. A friend of mine came over one day and asked if I would sing for her. It took me forever to muster up the courage to do so, but eventually I did, and she was blown away. She started telling all her friends and encouraged me to start singing out again. I’ve been pursuing music ever since, and if it weren’t for her support and encouragement I wouldn’t be where I am today. My friend’s name is Sandy, and her and I are now partners.
Sandy and I backstage
After telling my story during one of the on-camera interviews I explained to one of the producers that I didn’t want to become the “token lesbian” on the show. I didn’t want them to focus on that instead of who I was as a musician. She understood, but explained that my story and struggle is what helped get me here, and that she would do her best to spin it in the best light she could. I agreed that would be okay. I didn’t want to be difficult to work with and decided the best thing I could do was just to be true to myself.
Looking back, I am SO happy I got to tell my story and let America hear the struggles the LGBTQ community goes through. I’m actually really proud of myself for telling that story on national TV. I never talked to anyone about it and had buried it deep inside. I needed to get that out. The Voice helped me do that, and I’ll be forever grateful to them for giving me that platform to not only showcase my voice but to also tell my story.
To Be Continued…
AMANDA LEE PEERS 