The Voice Contestant Brennley Brown Shares What It’s Like Working With Gwen Stefani
If you're a fan of NBC's The Voice, you've most likely already heard of Brennley Brown—the fifteen-year-old country singer, taking season 12 by storm.
This country cutie has a powerful voice, a vibrant spirit and a heart of gold, and we had the chance to sit down with her and find out about her amazing journey on the reality TV show so far.
Scroll below to learn what excites Brennley about this new venture and how she feels about being on Team Gwen.
Sweety High: How nervous were you during your blind audition?
Brennley Brown: I mean, I already get nervous before I perform anywhere, so that performance was even more nerve-racking than normal because they weren't watching me. Although I was really nervous, the producers and the crew of the show were really great telling me "Just give it your all, act like it's just a performance and sing from your heart!" So that's really what I was trying to focus on.
SH: How do you go about picking songs you perform on the show?
BB: For the blind audition, I kind of had a list of songs that I wanted to audition with and "Stupid Boy" was one of them. Before you're with your coach, you're working with the producers and the crew, and so they were like "Hey, we really think 'Stupid Boy' would be a good song for you to sing." I was really happy to sing it, just because of the whole message behind that song. I feel like it was great piece to audition with, so we went with it.
As the show goes on, your coach starts getting involved in song selection, so now that I'm with Gwen, she's really involved with song choice and just the vibe of what we're going to do week to week. It's really exciting.
SH: How did you feel switching from Blake's team to Gwen's team?
BB: I was both nervous and excited. I think as a country singer, Blake just made sense as a coach. Before I had my blind audition, I knew I would be grateful if any one of the judges turned. But in the back of my head, I thought if one did turn, it was probably going to be Blake because of our country roots.
When I did perform, and Gwen said some things about my spirit and my heart, I just knew I had to go with her. I've loved her for a very long time. I'm very excited and just working with her the past few weeks has been amazing. Hopefully I get to continue on with her on her team.
SH: What's your relationship like with Gwen?
BB: Gwen is one of the most genuine, nicest people I've ever met. She's so down to earth, and she has kids, too, a little bit younger than me, which is a cool thing. She's kind of been like a mother figure for me.
We talk about fashion a lot. Like when I last saw her in rehearsals a couple of weeks ago, she was literally going on and on saying "Okay, I think you should wear this, and you should style your hair this way." It's just been a blast getting to work with her.
SH: What has been the best part of this process for you so far?
BB: You know, the best part is that I never thought people would be able to hear my voice at this level. I've been singing for a really long time—I am young, but I work very hard. So to be here, and be able to share my voice with this amount of people on this show, is amazing. I am very very thankful and I can't believe that it's actually happening. I mean, the live shows are next week! It's crazy.
SH: What has been the hardest part of this process for you so far?
BB: The hardest thing for me is just going to continue staying true to myself. I knew going into this from the beginning I wanted that to be the most important thing. I just want to be true to myself and my character and show people the real me. That has been the hardest thing because you feel like you have to be a certain way when the cameras are on—but I've learned to just be myself.
Be sure to tune into The Voice on NBC this Monday 5 p.m. PT and 7 p.m. ET to view the first live performances!
Brennley Brown isn't the first young artist from reality TV we're obsessed with. Check out our exclusive interview with America's Got Talent winner, Grace VanderWaal, HERE.