Of the 32 singers remaining on NBC's The Voice, Dallas-Fort Worth is well represented.
The three North Texans still vying for a major-label recording contract are Madi Davis of McKinney, 16; Blaine Mitchell of Fort Worth, 24; and Darius Scott of Dallas, 23.
Madi (who describes her sound as "sorrowful") and Darius (an R&B/soul-style singer) are on Pharrell Williams' team. They aced their "battle round" performances to advance to the show's knockout rounds, which begin with Monday's 7 p.m. episode.
Meanwhile, Blaine (an alt-rocker) survived a close call last week. Originally a member of Blake Shelton's team, he lost his battle round to Blind Joe Bommersbach but stayed in the running because Adam Levine used one of his "steals" to take him.
The three North Texans talked about life on The Voice by phone last week during rehearsal breaks.
David Martindale, Special Contributor
How does it feel to have gotten this far on the show?
Blaine: Some 40,000 people try out for The Voice every year, so to get this far is pretty sweet. And just being in the same room as Adam Levine and Brad Paisley is surreal. You walk in and you're like, "Somebody pinch me. I'm dreaming. Is this real life right now?"
Madi: Yeah, "surreal" is the right word. I've wanted to be able to share my music with people for as long as I can remember. Now it's happening. It's humbling to have people see me on TV and become fans. People I've never met are rooting for me to succeed. That's a first for me.
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In what ways have you already grown as a performer, just from being on the show?
Darius: Pharrell wanted me to dig in and connect more with the song ["Lean on Me" in the battle round]. It wasn't that I had trouble connecting with the song. It's that I'm a little shy. But I decided to dive in and have fun with it. Pharrell was pleased that I was willing to break out of my little shell.
Madi: Everybody says that going on The Voice is like a boot camp for artists and it's so true. Every minute, you're learning something: about the industry, about wardrobe or makeup, and obviously about music, which is the biggest one. There's no other experience quite like it.
Is it difficult to work closely with other aspiring singers, especially in the battle rounds, while simultaneously competing against them?
Blaine: That's hard, because you get really close and then it's like, "Hey, you've got to sing against them and somebody, at the end of the day, has to go home." I was lucky with Blind Joe, because when there's a steal, it's kind of like we both win. But it's not going to be that way every time.
Darius: At some point, somebody you care about has to go home. That's the game we signed up to play. I would be super-sad if I went up against Madi, but I think we both understand it's a competition.
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Will you fill us in a little more about your Dallas-Fort Worth ties?
Blaine: I was born in Dallas and pretty much grew up on Lake Ray Hubbard out in Rowlett and Rockwall. Those were my stomping grounds. I went to high school and graduated from Rockwall Heath. Now I'm working at a church as a worship pastor in Arlington, so I made the move to Fort Worth.
Darius: I'm not exactly from Texas, but I live there now. I'm from Atlanta. I've been in Dallas for a year. But my parents get on me all the time. They say, "Make sure you tell everyone you're from Atlanta!"
Madi: I was born in Elmhurst, Ill., near Chicago. But I moved here when I was 1, so I am very much a Texan. When I go anywhere else, I seem to relate best to people from Texas. I'll be getting along with someone and then I'll be surprised to find out they're from Texas, too. We have a connection."
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The Voice
7 p.m. Monday and 8 p.m. Tuesday, KXAS-TV (NBC5). 2 hrs. Monday, 1 hr. Tuesday.
