Courtesy photo Karlee Metzger, formerly of Gladstone, sings on NBC’s “The Voice.”

NASHVILLE — A former Gladstone resident who sang three times on NBC’s recent season of “The Voice” described the experience as a great blessing that turned out to be a real confidence booster for her.

“It was the biggest blessing of my life. It definitely has helped me out,” said Karlee Metzger, 22, now living in Nashville where she is determined a make a career of singing and possibly writing her own songs.

“My confidence before the show, I really didn’t believe in myself much, but this show has made me believe in myself so much,” she told the Daily Press in a recent telephone interview from Nashville.

Metzger, a 2012 graduate of Gladstone High School, said she had tried out twice for “American Idol” during her high school years. But it was her fourth tryout for “The Voice” before she landed a spot in the televised contest.

Metzger was among thousands of people who had lined up for the venue in Chicago to audition for “The Voice” in February 2016. Each contestant was allowed to sing about a minute of a song to keep the line moving.

“Out of 40,000 people, I made it on the show! I think that says a lot about my artistry and who I am,” she commented with confidence.

Prior to going to Las Vegas to compete on “The Voice,” Metzger’s singing experience included school talent shows, some weddings, and a few video postings on YouTube and Facebook.

Later that year, she flew from her family’s home in Marceline, Mo., to Las Vegas where the taped program of the first round of vocal competition was aired on television on Sept. 26.

“It was insane to think about,” Metzger said, recalling how everything moved so fast waiting for her turn to sing.

“I remember like being really nervous. Standing back stage, I felt like my heart was beating out of my chest,” she said. Metzger’s mother, Kellie, and her grandmother, Dana Rieck, were backstage with her.

When it was time for her to perform her blind audition, she said she didn’t look up as she walked on stage where four celebrity judges were sitting in chairs with their backs to her. The judges were singer/songwriters Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Miley Cyrus, and Alicia Keys.

“I took a deep breath, opened my eyes, and told myself: ‘Everybody’s there to support you.’ That’s what made me calm down a lot. I embraced the moment,” Metzger recalled.

According to “The Voice” website, “During the blind auditions, the decisions from the musician coaches are based solely on voice and not on looks. The coaches hear the artists perform, but they don’t get to see them thanks to rotating chairs. If a coach is impressed by the artist’s voice, he/she pushes a button to select the artist for his/her team. At this point, the coach’s chair will swivel so that he/she can face the artist he/she has selected. If more than one coach pushes his/her button, the power then shifts to the artists to choose which coach they want to work with. If no coach pushes his/her button, the artist is eliminated from the competition.”

Halfway through singing “Samson,” Metzger said she was “really nervous” because none of the judges had turned around. Right before her song ended, Cyrus and Shelton turned their chairs but she wasn’t sure if they had turned around for her or because her song was done.

It wasn’t until Levine told her she was lucky to have two coaches want to work with her, when she realized Cyrus and Shelton had turned around for her and she was still in the competition.

“I was so like in shock, I didn’t know what to say,” Metzger said when she had to decide between the two coaches.

“Miley was already giving me advice and how she wanted to work with me and break me out of my shell so I chose Miley.”

During the following week, Metzger was coached by Cyrus and also had the opportunity to learn from Joan Jett.

“It still doesn’t feel real to me,” Metzger said about the coaching sessions with the two women, adding, “Joan Jett — she’s an amazing person and musician and artist.”

The young artist recalled Jett coming up to her and telling her, “Don’t let the bullies get to you. Look where you’re at now.”

Metzger said she learned a lot from the two professional performers including a brand new song — “Brand New Key” — which she had to learn overnight because she was performing the melody as a duo with fellow teammate Darby Walker during the battle rounds.

Following the blind auditions, each coach works with their team of contestants who then pair up to battle it out against each other.

According to “The Voice” website: “Once the teams are set, the battle is on. Coaches dedicate themselves to developing their team of artists, giving them advice and sharing the secrets of their success, along with help from their celebrity advisors. During the battle rounds, the coaches pit two of their own team members against each other to sing the same song together in front of a studio audience. After the vocal battle, the coach must choose which of his/her singers will advance to the next round of competition, while the losing artist is available to be stolen by another coach. Each coach has two steals available during the battle rounds.”

“I was definitely nervous,” Metzger said about her second performance. “I was super nervous. I thought I had a slim chance at getting picked, but I gave it my all and decided to do my best. I kept in mind what Miley Cyrus and Joan Jett told me.”

Coach Cyrus had to decide between the two teammates and picked Walker. Metzger said, as she was telling Miley goodbye and crying, Shelton used up one of his steals and picked her to coach for the next week.

“That was cool and overwhelming,” she said, pausing to recall the moment.

In addition to being coached by Shelton, Metzger was also coached that week by Faith Hill and Tim McGraw.

“That was crazy. They’re one of my favorite celebrity couples,” Metzger said. “They are adorable in person. They feed off each other’s advice.”

Metzger said she was nervous but also “super excited” to work with the three country stars who gave her a lot of advice on singing “Invincible” for her third performance on the show.

She recalled how Hill taught her about how to perform on stage, telling her to feel the song, feel the meaning of the words, and feel “invincible” during the knockout round.

According to “The Voice” website: “At the end of the battle rounds, only the strongest members of each coach’s roster remain and proceed to the knockout rounds. Here, the artists are paired against a teammate once more, but this time, they select their own songs to perform individually, while their direct competitor watches and waits.”

Metzger competed against teammate Dana Harper who went on to sing in the playoffs.

“It wasn’t my best performance during the knockout round,” Metzger admitted, feeling she didn’t have enough time to warm up for her third performance, which turned out to be her final appearance on the show.

But looking back on her three weeks in Las Vegas, Metzger said she was grateful for the opportunity to sing on the show, learn from the celebrity artists, and make new friends.

Among her new friends is Sundance Head, who made it through the live playoffs and live performance shows to become the final winner on “The Voice.” He received the grand prize of $100,000 and a recording contract.

“I’m pretty good friends with Sundance Head,” Metzger said. “I can’t wait to see what he does from here. He’s so talented.”

She is also extremely excited about her own future after performing on “The Voice.”

“I’m very grateful. I’m so lucky to have the experience and I’m just exited to see where it all takes me,” she said.

Since the show, in November she moved to Nashville where she hopes to “work some gigs,” she said.

“Music is my main focus,” Metzger said about her current singing career, adding she will continue writing songs. She is releasing a new single she wrote which she is thinking about titling “Think of You.”

This summer, she plans to tour in Michigan and Missouri, according to a recent posting on her Facebook site which has more than 4,000 followers… or in her case… more than 4,000 fans.

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Jenny Lancour, (906) 786-2021, ext. 143, jlancour@dailypress.net