Television December 16, 2015
'The Voice': What's Next for Emily Ann Roberts, Barrett Baber and Jeffery Austin?
Jordan Smith was crowned the winner of “The Voice” Tuesday night and nabbed a $100,000 recording contract. He told the press he plans to start writing music… after he catches up on some much-needed sleep.
Waiting for your permission to load the Instagram Media.
Close behind Smith were runners-up Emily Ann Roberts, Barret Baber and Jeffery Austin, and we've got the scoop on what the rest of the finalists have planned.
Emily Ann Roberts from Blake Shelton's team told us, “I want to start writing a lot and I want to put something together that is truly me and who I am. I think that is what I'm most focused on right now. I want to take what I've learned here and go home and work on it even more and build on it.”
The 17-year-old from Knoxville plans to go for a Dixie Chicks vibe. “They are that perfect mix of country and bluegrass and that's exactly who I am. So I would definitely have tons of bluegrass influences but it will be a solid country album.”
Baber, also from Team Blake, has big plans, revealing he's excited about the doors “The Voice” has opened for him. The Arkansas native said he plans to run through those open doors, not just stumble through.
The 35-year-old explained that right before “The Voice” he released an album called “Falling Again” and was making a big push in Nashville. “I really was pushing the last three years to finish up an EP and was really going to make my last real artist push in Nashville… after visiting with Blake about some of those things, I think he's really comfortable with the direction I'm headed and the things that I'm making happen for myself.”
He continued, “What he has done for me is hooking me up with his booking agent, and we started to talk about booking some bigger shows and really starting to develop into an enterprise so I can help take care of my family. I think the time for that is coming... I've got his email and I know that I can ask him anything and that will be super valuable moving forward.”
Baber believes he's got what it takes to make it in the music business because of all the work he did before the show. “I think probably more than any other contestant on this season or any other season of 'The Voice' I have the infrastructure in place to do something really cool.”
Jeffery Austin, Gwen Stefani's finalist, is “figuring life out.”
I'm going to be moving to L.A. I'm going to be pursuing a bunch of different opportunities and really hit the ground running. The real work starts after the show… as much as this exposure and opportunity has been really great for us, the music industry doesn't just hand you things, so you have to really work for it, so I will continue to work for it after this."
He added, “For sure I need to start writing songs and meeting with producers. That is all in the plans. I just have to get through this next day and start figuring out my life.”
