Birmingham singer Valarie T. Smith reflects on ‘The Voice’ experience, shares what’s next
As Season 30 of NBC’s “The Voice” gets underway, one Birmingham singer is looking back on the experience that helped take her career to new heights.
Valarie T. Smith appeared on Season 25 of the singing competition, earning a four-chair turn during her blind audition with a performance of Deborah Cox’s “Nobody’s Supposed to Be Here.”
Despite years of experience performing, Smith said she still remembers how nervous she was when she stepped onto the national stage.
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“My knees were absolutely shaking,” Smith said. “But I remember at the moment that I took the stage and I opened my mouth. The first thing I did was I hummed right before I went into the verse, and it kind of helped me release a little bit of the nerves.”
Webb went on to compete on Team Chance, where she said Chance the Rapper encouraged her to embrace her experience as a performer and gave her the freedom to be herself onstage.
While appearing on the show introduced Webb to a national audience, she said maintaining that momentum required just as much work after the competition ended. The exposure led to new bookings, including a ticketed theater performance in New Braunfels, Texas, where she performed for a packed audience of people she had never met.
But Smith said adjusting to life after the show also came with challenges, particularly when opportunities began to slow down.
“You start wondering like, what do I do next? What’s the next big thing?” she said.
Rather than relying solely on her television appearance, Smith continued accepting bookings, reaching out to venues and promoting herself on social media.
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“Your name goes before you right behind the show,” Smith said. “But you have to continue to work to make that name continue to ring out.”
Now back in Birmingham, Smith is continuing to build her music career. She recently appeared on gospel artist Damon Reed’s song “For My Good” and said she is preparing to release new music of her own.
As a new group of contestants takes the stage for Season 30, Smith has a simple piece of advice for singers hoping to follow in her footsteps.
“Breathe. They’re just people,” she said, encouraging contestants not to overthink their performances or put too much pressure on themselves.
This is a developing story and will be updated as information becomes available. Stay updated on the latest stories with the WVTM 13 app. You can download it here.