(Trinidad Express) Fans are calling out Payge Turner’s name.
The Trinidad-born, Seattle-based soul/rock artiste Paige “Payge Turner” Roopchan’s impressive performance on NBC’s season 19 premiere of The Voice instantly made her a fan favourite on Monday night.
This followed her commanding rendition of The Weeknd’s “Call Out My Name”, during the competition’s blind audition segment.
It was country music star Blake Shelton who turned his chair around to face the Trini artiste first.
But at the end of the audition, Roopchan, who announced herself to the judges by the sobriquet Payge Turner, chose to team up with Shelton’s partner, pop singer Gwen Stefani.
In the blind audition segment, singers audition for the judges who have their backs to them.
If the judge likes what he/she hears, they turn around to face the singer.
If more than one judge turns around the singer can choose which judge will be a mentor for the next few weeks.
This until the singers compete for US$100,000 and a deal with Universal Music.
Celebrity judges John Legend and Kelly Clarkson also praised Turner’s vocal range (commentors on social media lauded “that low note” she hit) and mesmerising stage presence.
Shelton was impressed by the singer’s strong vocals.
“She was high-stepping, her knees were up above her head and she was stomping. It was awesome. She’s not just an incredible vocalist, she’s a performer,” he said after her audition.
Stefani described her voice as sexy and was amazed at Turner’s vocal range.
Turner, 27, who said proudly she was from Trinidad and Tobago when asked where she was from, moved to Kansas City when she was 13 and is now based in Seattle.
She holds a degree in music theory and vocal performance and is a keyboard teacher at the School of Rock.
In an interview with DansTunesSeattle.com, Turner said she was raised in music. Her mother and sisters are singers.
Between 2016 and 2019, Turner released four singles, beginning with “Beautifully Flawed” and ending with “Wyld.” She released her four-song debut EP “Sleep Walker” in June.
“My goal as a singer-songwriter is to make sure my voice is heard clearly, and also to inspire people who have been in similar situations as I have: coming from broken homes, immigrants, and people that come from a Christian realm,” she said.