A New Voice on The Voice

I am off of Facebook for Lent so I had no idea that I should have been glued to the television Tuesday night watching The Voice.  I had no idea until my phone began to blow up with texts from friends about one of the contestants.  I am here to tell you about one of the talents you have to see and follow.  And when the time comes, and I'm sooooo hoping it does for her, you have to VOTE!  This young woman is from my small home town in South Georgia and it just tickles my heart to see her on the screen.  And it blows me away to hear her sing!If you are a watcher of The Voice, you may remember her from Season 13.  I was so proud of her making it to the blind auditions.  She did a great job, but sadly, did not get a chair from the judges.  They gave her good feedback and encouraged her to come back.  And, wow, come back she did!(By the way, I have a huge new appreciation for what it takes to even get to the blind auditions.  The numbers and competition are staggering.  One of my class participants and friends, Jean Kelly, made it through the process and it is tough!  I wrote about it and cheered her on HERE.)While I may not know Deanna personally, I know her family (and her people as they say in The South) well enough to be proud as punch for this opportunity!  Her "people" and I go waaayyy back.  In fact, we are practically related.  Her father's uncle was my uncle, so you could say we were related by marriage.  You do that kind of thing in small towns.  When I was growing up, before I moved at the age of 5, Deanna's father was our next door neighbor.  We played all sorts of games - this was definitely my glorious tomboy stage.  And I can tell one story here because I know her father would never be reading this . . . and it must have been before we moved so we were tiny little beings . . . so just imagine me at about age 4 and he at age 5 playing one afternoon.  That's when  he decided to become Superman and jump out of his two story window.  I must say I was mighty impressed with this huge leap - that's a long way down for a 5 year old!  Now, I can't remember if there were any broken bones as a result, but I do know there was a huge thorny bush that did a fine, and painful, job of breaking the fall.  That pretty much did it for our afternoon playdate.We've had so many other fun stories and interactions with this family throughout the years.  I am so happy for them and for Deanna as she has, obviously,  worked hard toward this goal and has made it to this point beautifully.   She was poised, comfortable and lovely on stage.  And how nice to hear a Southern accent!  I will be her biggest cheerleader.  Even if I didn't know her or her family, I would be cheering for her.  It's so refreshing to see someone from other parts of the country make it to a larger arena.  It never seems to be such a surprise to see someone from New York, L.A., or some city get their niche, but I always love to see someone from the South, and especially, a  small town, shine.[embed]http://youtu.be/2TF1WVcr79k[/embed]If you haven't seen this, take a second.  I could play it over and over and over . . . .Do you watch The Voice?  Isn't it fun when you have a connection?  By the way, I'm still on my no Facebook for Lent!  What have I missed?  I'm sure I haven't been missed!  How's your 40 Days going?  Enjoy Your Day!