Lauren-Michael Sellers, a singer from Alabama, is a force to be reckoned with on “The Voice.”
The former Birmingham resident wowed all four celebrity coaches during her Battle Round, singing “You Will Be Found” with Creigh Riepe. The two singers were featured on Monday’s episode of the NBC reality series, competing on Reba McEntire’s team. Their performance — covering a song from the Broadway musical “Dear Evan Hansen” — turned out to be a showstopper.
In the “Voice” Battles, singers perform duets with other contestants on their teams, vying to keep their spots on the show. Their coaches prepare them for the Battle Rounds, choosing the songs and making the final decisions on who stays and who goes.
Sellers and Riepe were impressive, well-matched contenders during their Battle, the coaches said, and both earned significant praise for their duet.
“That was a crazy battle,” Gwen Stefani said. “I kept bouncing back and forth between who’s winning and I didn’t really get anywhere by the end. I want to say, though, Creigh, you tone is, like, insane. Your voices complemented each other so well; it looked like you had such a vibe up there together. If I had to choose somebody, if it was my team, I might go with Creigh. It’s hard, you know, so hard.”
“Honestly, it would be tough for me if I was Reba,” Michael Buble said. “Creigh, you have a really sweet voice. You were right in the middle of your pitch. You were perfect. Lauren-Michael, your voice is so sweet and again, center of the note. No pitch issues. There are things about either of you that would make me lean towards either one. But on a show called ‘The Voice,” both of you have the voice.”
“I felt like I was actually at a show, not on a TV show in a Battle,” Snoop Dogg said. “So with that being said, I felt like y’all complemented each other very well. I’m glad I don’t have to make a decision, but if I did have to pick a particular person, I would go with Lauren … because I felt like her voice was more controlled.”
“Lauren-Michael, when you sing, you’ve got a ferocious (quality),” McEntire said. “Ferocity, determined. Like, ‘I know where I’m going and that’s where I’m gonna land.’ And Creigh, you could have been a Beach Boy. That’s the way I see you. You’re having fun on stage and you’re so alive. So this is why it was the perfect duet, with you both.”
In the end, however, McEntire chose Sellers as the winner. Riepe, a Nashville singer-songwriter, was eliminated from the competition. Riepe was gracious in defeat, saying he looked forward to seeing what Sellers would do next on the show.
“I chose Lauren-Michael because she’s a redhead,” McEntire said, smiling. “I liked everything about her. You want to hear somebody that gives you joy. I think the women watching this show will really fall in love with her. I mean, she could be the lady that just lives down the road from you, and she can sing so well. And it just really hit me hard.”
Sellers seemed overjoyed by her victory and hugged McEntire in celebration. “Wow!” Sellers said.
Alabama’s Lauren-Michael Sellers, left, rehearses for her Battle Round on “The Voice” with Creigh Riepe. Their coach is Reba McEntire.(Casey Durkin/NBC)
During rehearsals for her Battle, Sellers said she felt an emotional connection to “You Will Be Found.”
“The message of this song is transformative,” Sellers said. “It’s about finding faith and redemption and grace when you feel like you’re not enough, when you feel broken.”
Sellers also noted that McEntire was the ideal coach to guide her journey on “The Voice.” “She feels like home,” Sellers said.
Sellers, 35, has a long way to go before the “Voice” finals, but she’s one step closer after triumphing during her Battle Round. She moves to a phase of the competition known as the three-way Knockouts, choosing a song to perform as a solo artist in a head-to-head contest with two other teammates.
The Knockouts start on Nov. 11, after two more Battle episodes. After that, the remaining contestants will move on to the Playoffs rounds. If Sellers makes it past the Playoffs, she’ll advance to the live shows, where viewer votes decide weekly eliminations and determine the winner. (Early episodes of “The Voice” are filmed in advance, and the coaches decide who stays and who goes.)
Alabama’s Lauren-Michael Sellers preps for her Battle Round on “The Voice” with fellow contestant Creigh Riepe. Their coach is Reba McEntire. “Lauren-Michael’s voice, it’s round, it’s good, it’s emotional,” McEntire said during rehearsals. “It’s got power. I love her voice.”(Casey Durkin/NBC)
Sellers is the only contestant from Alabama on “The Voice” this season, but she’s already a favorite on Team Reba. And lest we forget, Sellers is following in the footsteps of Asher HaVon, the Selma native who won Season 25 as a member of McEntire’s team.
She was the lead singer and primary songwriter of The Heavy Hearts, a folk-rock trio formed in Birmingham in 2013. The band’s debut album, “Keep Your Light On,” was released in May 2014. Songs on the album included “The Boy From Iris Glenn,” “Georgia Grown,” “Hearts to Bend” and the title track.
A graduate of Birmingham-Southern College, Sellers earned a master’s degree in education at the University of Montevallo. According to her LinkedIn profile, she worked as a behavior specialist and collaborative educator for Birmingham City Schools for several years.
Alabama’s Lauren-Michael Sellers, right, sang “You Will Be Found” with Creigh Riepe for a Battle Round on “The Voice” during Season 26. Their coach is Reba McEntire.(Casey Durkin/NBC)
“Lauren-Michael is a special education teacher and worship director. She believes her students have exceptionalities, not disabilities, and leading worship has gifted her with both a church family and renewed faith. With both master’s and educational specialist degrees, she uses her education to give her students a voice. As the oldest of five, she grew up quickly to fill the mom role to her siblings. In ninth grade, her mother lost custody of her and her siblings, leading them all to be separated. She then started writing as an outlet for her traumatic upbringing. One day, a teacher saw her journaling and pointed out that it looked like songs. Music became her total focus, ultimately leading her to receive a full scholarship to study voice and music composition. Now living and teaching in Nashville, she performs locally and participates in songwriting collaborations every chance she gets.”
