UNIVERSAL CITY, CALIFORNIA: John Legend praised her rendition of rapper Drake's "Hotline Bling," saying it was "perfection." LVNDR, 27, from Lowell, Michigan, just sang in the Blind Audition on season 24 of NBC's 'The Voice' and persuaded two of the four coaches, John and Niall Horan, to turn their chairs for her.
Lindsey Garcia is LVNDR, pronounced Lavender. She explained to the coaches that she acquired her moniker because she uses lavender to relax. She then presented the coaches with lavender necklaces. Furthermore, she surprised them after her performance when she revealed that she was new to music.
"I only started just taking music seriously a couple years ago," she stated. "I actually taught myself guitar using YouTube. I never showed anybody I could sing."
"What I loved so much about it was the vibe and the feel, which was just magical, and it transported me," John stated after her performance. "Your voice, your tone was just so slinky. It was peaceful, but also musically daring. You made so many melodic choices because you changed almost the entire melody. For me, you can sing, you have a point of view and a story to tell.”
"That was something special," Niall added. "I was thinking, do I let her finish the first sentence before I push the button? I just love character, and you’ve got it in abundance. I felt like I was watching a movie, listening to a soundtrack. To say you’ve been nurturing this in your bedroom, just learning guitar off of YouTube—you're amazing. That was stunning."
"I totally regret not turning around. Reba McEntire commented, "I loved your voice, loved your singing."
"I’m excited for you. It’s very beautiful what you did," Gwen Stefani stated.
LVNDR went for Team Niall on 'The Voice' Season 24
LVNDR injected an ethereal, dreamy, Billie Eilish-esque tone into the R&B radio hit, and it worked. Whatever timidity she expressed in the introduction was not visible in her audition.
Niall and John both agreed to compete for her, with John even describing her performance as "perfection." LVNDR revealed that she learned everything she knows about playing from YouTube, but she arrived prepared — she even brought necklaces for all four coaches — and picked Niall to help her advance to the next level.
'The Voice' Season 24 contestant LVNDR's inspiration is 'anything Motown'
LVNDR describes herself as an independent singer-songwriter whose influences as a child included Amy Winehouse, Jason Mraz, and "anything Motown."
LVNDR does not appear to have released any music. But, with the aid of Dogtown Studios in Grand Rapids and the loop pedal she's learned to utilize over the last two years, she's produced videos of excellent originals.
According to her Facebook posts, she's also been working on her debut LVNDR EP, which she intends to release in 2023.
'The Voice' Season 24 contestant LVNDR had first dibs to 'American Idol' audition
'The Voice' isn't her first audition for a singing competition. She won the 'WOTV Idol Sweepstakes' in Grand Rapids in 2019 and again in 2021. This meant she had first dibs on an 'American Idol' audition in front of the celebrity judges.
LVNDR told WTOV at the time that she'd been singing for as long as she could remember, but was a "closet singer" until the age of 16. She went on to say that her mission is to assist others get through difficult times by sharing her songs.
'The Voice' Season 24 airs every Monday and Tuesday on NBC at 8 pm ET.
