South Carolina native’s soulful audition earns him spot on ‘The Voice’

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD)- A Lowcountry native hopes to become the nation’s next big superstar after earning a spot on the hit show, ‘The Voice.’

“When you’re walking up on that stage and those lights go dim, it gets eerie because you don’t hear anything but your own footsteps,” Jamar Langley said.

Langley, 37, took the stage during Monday night’s blind auditions episode and wowed the judges with his rendition of “Try Me” by James Brown.

“It came down to what can I do that’s absolutely different than everyone else to make my voice stand out in this moment and I was like ‘listen I can’t go wrong with “Try Me” by James Brown,” he said. “To be able to actually sing that song and put the arrangement together from beginning to end and then go on stage and really execute that, it was amazing.”

Langley’s soulful audition earned him a two-chair turn from the judges, a feat he said he was determined to achieve.

“I was so hyped, I had to calm down to even talk to them,” he laughed. “It felt so great to have that solidified thing like someone turn around because they love your voice, especially Blake and Chance.”

He ultimately picked rookie coach Chance the Rapper over veteran Blake Shelton.

“I would love to work with Chance because he’s a rapper and it would give a different perspective to what I’m doing,” he said about his decision. “I figured it would be a good fusion of music creative ideas…that’s who I wanted to turn.”

A native of Andrews, S.C. who now lives in Atlanta, Ga., Langley said he grew up around music and started singing in his church choir at age 3. But, he shared that his passion for performing really developed during his teenage years.

“By the time, I was about fourteen or fifteen, I was singing with my brothers…and that’s when I got my footing as far as being an artist and singing in front of people,” he shared. “From that age until now, I’ve never stopped.”

Since appearing on the show, Langley said the response from family and his community has been “overwhelming.”

“To have that type of support is an absolute blessing and I couldn’t ask for better,” he said. “Everyone is so invested and they’ve always been invested in me as an artist but like it’s like on another level now.”

Langley advanced to the battle rounds and said he is ready and excited to represent South Carolina on the national stage.

“It feels so good to be from South Carolina in this moment because no one else is and it just feels good to stand out,” he said. “We deserve to have a superstar in the state.”

Watch his full blind audition: