Whom she selected as her coach was the only thing not revealed during the extended teaser for Kennedy Holmes’ audition for “The Voice” ahead of the September 24 season premiere. But the truth is, Adam Levine, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton never stood a chance. Once Jennifer Hudson hit the button to throw her hat in the ring to become celebrity coach for 13-year-old Florissant native Kennedy Holmes during her blind audition for “The Voice,” it was a wrap.
“I honestly knew,” said Holmes, an eighth-grader at John Burroughs School. “One of my earliest performances was “I am Changing” by Jennifer Hudson. So, it was like, ‘I want to meet her, I want to sing with her and I want to learn from her.’”
She did, she has – and she will. Holmes’ blind audition for the 15th season premiere served as the sneak preview for the season. She sang Adele’s “Turning Tables.” “I was so nervous,” Holmes admitted. “Over the years, I’ve become good at hiding how nervous I am. I was on stage. It was really dark. Then, the band started playing and I was like ‘Okay, it’s go time. Turn it on.’”
Did she ever! All four judges, including Hudson, wanted to be her coach. Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine went so far as to say that she could be the biggest talent to emerge from “The Voice.”
“When I was on that stage and I saw all four of them turn, I was just so focused on finishing the song and telling the story,” Holmes said. “I remember all of them saying that they want to be moved – that they don’t want just singing.” Country star Blake Shelton asked to be her coach so that she could teach him how to sing like her. “They were telling me I have a shot and I can make a career out of my voice, that I can do this,” Holmes said. “It was a confidence boost that made me believe in myself – and very happy with where I am in life.”
But the biggest moment of the show came when Hudson sang her praises. Holmes lost control of her emotions when it was Hudson’s turn to speak. Through the tears, she told Hudson that she always wanted to sing with her. Hudson obliged. “I’m ready,” Hudson said as she was handed a microphone and made her way to the stage.
Holmes still can’t believe it happened, even though the clip went viral and has been viewed nearly 13 million times and counting.
“When she said that, I was just trying not to cry again,” said Holmes. “I have no words for it. I was like, ‘The Jennifer Hudson wanted to sing with me. This can’t be happening. I must be in a dream.’ I was trying not to cry so that I could be able to sing – because singing and crying don’t really go together.”
She got her emotions in check, and wowed Hudson, the rest of the coaches and the viewers all over again.
“As many probably predicted, she went with Hudson. “Before even going on ‘The Voice,’ I remember just watching videos of Jennifer, and coming across her talking about The Voice and saying when it comes to ‘J-Hud productions,’ she will take you under her wing and she truly cares.”
It was her mother Karen Holmes’ idea that she audition for “The Voice” once they lowered the age requirement to 13. “As soon as I turned 13, my mom was like, ‘You are auditioning, right now.’ Karen and Kennedy traveled to Indianapolis for the open call and “things went from there.”
She’s only been performing before audiences for four years, but that’s nearly a third of her life. “My mom says that as soon as I started talking, I started singing,” Kennedy said. “I began performing in front of audiences since I was about nine. I saw the way crowds reacted – and singing was a passion of mine – and it made me want to pursue this.”
At 10, she blew St. Louis audiences away with her performance as Little Inez during The Muny’s 2015 presentation of “Hairspray.”
Three years later, all eyes are on her as she moves forward as a music star in the making. She is grateful to her parents, brother, extended family, friends, teachers and the whole region for their love and support.
“I’m extremely happy to be representing my city of St. Louis,” Kennedy said. “We need a confidence boost to tell people that we need to come out of our box and strive for things we thought we could never reach.
“We have a lot of talented people out here in St. Louis – and we just need to show the world.”
NBC’s “The Voice” airs at 7 p.m. Monday nights on NBC. Check local listings for channels. For more information on the show, visit https://www.nbc.com/the-voice.
