PH grad appears on ‘The Voice’

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PENDLETON — Her talents have taken her across the country, around the world, and, thanks to a recent television appearance, into the homes of millions of Americans.

But even though she works in Los Angeles and resides in Nashville, Tennessee, Casey Jamerson will never let people know what her real hometown truly means to her.

The 2008 Pendleton Heights High School graduate performed during the blind auditions on NBC’s “The Voice” March 13, singing the Pat Benatar classic “Shadows of the Night” for judges Alicia Keys, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani.

Although none of the celebrity coaches turned their chairs to select her, the 27-year-old singer said it was a valuable experience and opportunity.

“It was slightly heartbreaking for me because this is what I do for a living,” Jamerson said. “It was a great opportunity while I was there, and I wish it could have gone farther. I had an insane amount of compliments from people and my likes on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter all went up.”

After her performance, which was taped last October, the judges expressed regret for not choosing Jamerson and complimented her on her performance. They even invited her back.

“There’s a chance I could go back, but I’m not sure,” she said. “I know everyone has encouraged me to do it again. You only see a minute and 37 seconds of me singing, but I was up there for over 20 minutes. Each coach spent about five minutes talking to me, and not one person could give me a negative.”

There was one coach whose positive critique meant a little more to Casey.

“Gwen just kept apologizing,” Jamerson said. “She’s been a lifelong idol of mine and to be able to sing for her was really an honor. She was very kind with her words, and just her saying that means a lot.

I wanted to make sure she knew that it was incredible to have met her. I walked right up to her and said, ‘You’re my idol.’”

Despite not being chosen, Jamerson takes heart in knowing what she accomplished through the audition process.

“People don’t realize this, but there are about 40,000 auditions submitted, and I was in the top 80,” she said. “And out of those 80, I was the only female rock singer.”

Jamerson will be reuniting with Spiegelworld for her next big project. After performing in Australia and Canada with the group “Empire,” Jamerson has accepted the lead in a Los Angeles-based performance of the Las Vegas show “Absinthe.”

“Absinthe is the No. 1 selling show in Las Vegas right now,” Jamerson said. “The show itself is hilarious. It is very raunchy humor but in the best way possible. It’s a super politically incorrect show, and they take great pride in that.”

For those who have the chance to see the Los Angeles production, which opens on March 22, Jamerson’s character will be the first that they see.

“My character is the Green Fairy, and I open the show by dropping out of the ceiling,” Jamerson said. “I sing rock music, and I’m the first character you see in the show. Supposedly, if you drink true absinthe, you hallucinate green people or whatever. That’s kind of the idea, and the whole show is kind of what’s happening in this person’s mind while he’s tripping on absinthe. The acrobats in this show are just incredible.”

No matter where she travels and performs, Jamerson said she will never forget where she came from. She insisted Pendleton be listed as her hometown when she was introduced on “The Voice,” rather than Nashville. She still holds her small-town values and roots near to her heart, including the same cell phone number she’s had for 11 years.

“‘The Voice’ kept wanting to say that I’m from Nashville, but I’m not,” she said. “I’m from Pendleton, Indiana, and I’m very proud of that. Pendleton has been a phenomenal support system for me in my musical career. I grew up going to cheer camps and softball camps at Pendleton. I will never lose that hometown pride.”

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