Keepin' it Country Media & Radio » Jordan Rager

See Your Favorite Country Acts From “The Voice”

Jennifer Swirsky — Tue, 08 Jan 2013 15:16:00 +0000

Several alumni from NBC’s “The Voice” will be sharing the stage in Franklin, Tennessee this weekend at Puckett’s Gro. & Restaurant! Scheduled to perform are the following acts:

Cherie Oakley – Season 1 (Team Christina)
Patrick Thomas – Season 1 (Team Blake)
Adley Stump – Season 2 (Team Blake)
Jordan Rager – Season 2 (Team Blake)
Nicole Johnson – Season 3 (Team Blake)
Rudy Parris – Season 3 (Team Blake)
2Steel Girls – Season 3 (Team Blake)
Cecelia Westbrook – Season 3 (Team Christina)
Jessica Cayne – Season 3

While all the tables for the event are sold out, there is still a waiting list. If you are in the Franklin, Tennessee area, contact Puckett’s to have your name placed on the list. If you are unable to obtain entry, have no fear — the show will be streamed live online on Puckett’s website, as well as singer, Nicole Johnson’s Ustream. Make sure you tune in on Saturday night, January 12 at 8:00 p.m. CST to watch alumni from “The Voice” and friend of the site, Cherie Oakley, as they come together to bring their talents to Tennessee!

RaeLynn Goes Live, Spends Sunday Online With Fans

Ted Efron — Mon, 09 Apr 2012 03:04:05 +0000

After last week’s live show performance on The Voice that earned her a spot in the show’s Top 16, RaeLynn decided to a little live show of her own. We’re not talking about TV or even a club gig. This was simply RaeLynn spending part of her Easter Sunday connecting with her fans in a webcast.

Say what you will about the spunky 17-year-old from Baytown, TX, but she sure has fun. She took the chat in every conceivable direction: From her love of “boy bands” (especially One Direction and singer Harry Styles) to being disappointed in hearing Jake Owen got engaged (even though she said the 30-year-old Owen is pretty old) to talking about one of her friends getting a boyfriend. She may be on her way to being a big star, but she’s still got a lot of kid in her. That’s a good thing.

She sang little snippets of songs that fans requested and even gave some of them a huge thrill by calling them. She even made a few surprise calls to some of her friends from The Voice so fans could hear from those people, too. Unfortunately for her, one of those calls kind of backfired. When she called former Team Blake member Jordan Rager, the fellow country signer didn’t know who he was talking with because he didn’t have RaeLynn’s number saved in his phone. Oops!

As for answering questions, RaeLynn tried her best, but it was hard for her (or anyone watching) to keep up with the fast and furious flow from her fans. Below are some of the her thoughts on various topics and answers to questions:

On her reaction to fans voting her into the Top 16 and what song she’ll be singing next:

“First of all, thank you if you voted for me. I really appreciate it. I’m so excited to be in the Top 16. You’re gonna love the next song I’m doin’. I can’t tell you what song it is, but you’re gonna love it!”

On being coached by Blake Shelton and mentored by Miranda Lambert:

“Isn’t he (Blake) amazing? He is so cool! He’s like the best coach ever! He and Miranda have been mentoring me a lot. Any time I get a new song she tells me what I need to do to work on it. She’s just so cool!”

On her accidental slipping of a swear word during the Results Show. She said it after being named the third of three Team Blake members that voters advanced to the Top 16.

“I’ve been getting so much crap about that! I did say, “Oh, the s-word” after they called my name because it was so crazy! First of all, I was sittin’ there with Charlotte, Naia and Jordis, who are amazing artists. They all did good on iTunes. I didn’t know who in the heck they were gonna pick. So when they called my name, I think anybody would’ve said, “Oh, sh–!” I mean, come on! That was scary! I’ve had a couple people criticize me for it, but stuff like that happens. It was really funny because Miranda said that when she won Album of the Year.” (For those who may not know, that happened in 2008 when Miranda won for her Crazy Ex-Girlfriend album.)

What does she think about being famous?

“I don’t know. I don’t think of myself as famous. It’s weird when people come up to me and are like, “It’s RaeLynn!” because I’m not used to it. I’m just a normal girl with a dream. It’s crazy.”

What does she think about American Idol country contestant Skylar Laine?

“I think she’s awesome! I think she’s a badass, like me! Me and her both are like that spitfire, badass that’s goin’ on in country music. I admire that. And I love rock-country and I think she’s gonna do really well! She’s really great. I really, really like Skylar Laine.”

Who’s more attractive: Adam or Blake?

“Definitely, Adam. Blake’s more like a big brother to me.”

******

Team Adam and Team Cee Lo take The Voice stage this week, so RaeLynn gets the week off from performing. She returns to the stage for her next live performance on Monday, April 16. We’ll find out if she moves on again during the results show on the 17th.

Catch future RaeLynn webcasts at her Ustream channel HERE. Plus, you can keep up with her at her Facebook and follow her on Twitter @RaeLynnOfficial

The Voice: Team Blake Recap – Week 8

Jeanna D. — Tue, 27 Mar 2012 07:12:44 +0000

And there you have it…

The Voice‘s battle rounds are now complete, and six members from each team are moving on to the live shows.

As we already know, Team Blake consists of RaeLynn, Jordis, Charlotte Sometimes, Erin Willett, Jermaine Paul… and tonight Naia Kete was added to the group!

Coach Blake Shelton paired Naia up against country boy, Jordan Rager. The amazingly talented Kelly Clarkson and Miranda Lambert were there once again to help mentor the team.

For the battle, Naia and Jordan performed Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours.” As the coaches pointed out, we have seen better from both contestants and their full skills were not on display this round. When it was time for Blake to make a decision, he decided to advance Naia to the live shows.

Continue reading to check out video of the battle…

Naia vs. Jordan

Naia is very unique and we are sure she will shine next week! We are looking forward to seeing her perform again. We will miss Jordan with his country rasp and charm, but we wish him the best of luck and know we will be seeing great things from him.

And we are so excited for Team Blake! They definitely are a strong group of artists, and now it’s time to take on the competition.

@Blakeshelton: Now the battles are over, the war shall now begin…. #TEAMBLAKE!!!!

The Voice is about to really heat up!

Tune in next Monday on NBC at 8/7c to catch the first live episode of the season! You won’t want to miss it.

To check out behind the scenes videos, interviews, blogs, photos, and all things The Voice… visit http://www.nbc.com/the-voice/. Also, you can purchase full length recordings of the audition and battle round songs on iTunes!

Go Team Blake!

EXCLUSIVE: Interview With Jordan Rager

Lydia Picknell — Sat, 03 Mar 2012 14:34:47 +0000

Jordan Rager is the only male country singer on Team Blake Shelton on this year’s season of The Voice. The high school senior is dedicated to his career dream of being a country singer, already with one demo tape out and working on a second one this year. He was in Nashville when his mom called him to let him know he earned an audition for The Voice – which she had entered his name into. Although his fellow classmates don’t treat him any differently, and his teachers Fed Ex’d him his homework while he was in Hollywood, the fans have – his Twitter page jumped from around 100 followers to over 5,000 since his Blind Audition aired on NBC.

Jordan discusses why he auditioned for The Voice, what his dream is after high school, what kind of a person Blake Shelton really is, what’s the reason for him loving music, and why he was disappointed over Kelly Clarkson. Read our exclusive interview with Jordan below and be sure to follow our coverage of The Voice through the rest of the season.

So how did you become interested in The Voice?

I watched a little bit of it last season. The idea that caught me was the Blind Audition. The idea that everybody gets judged based on their voice – age doesn’t matter, looks don’t matter – the only thing that matters is how you sound and I love the idea of that. Whereas in some other shows, it might be “well, you sing good but you don’t have the look.”

Was it anybody’s idea to have you try out, or was it your own?

Well, we had a lot of people tell me “you should try out for The Voice, dude, you should try out.” So finally, my Mom was sitting around at home one day and thought she’d give it a shot. She put my name on NBC.com to see if they would pick me. I was in Nashville cutting a demo CD when me and my Dad were on our way back through Chattanooga when Mom called saying “hey, you got an audition with The Voice.” I was like, “Really?”. She goes “yeah, I put your name in to see if they’d like you and they gave you an audition.” I was like “okay, cool!”.

So you said you have your demo CD? Is it out or are you still working on it?

No, it’s already out. It’s released. We’re actually about to run out of them, so we’re planning on cutting another one this year.

Any idea when we can expect it?

Not right now because we’re still in the process of hammering all the songs out, me and my band. We still have to get some studio time set up, so we don’t have any set time right now.

What was it like working with Blake and Miranda Lambert to prepare for the Battle Rounds?

Working with Blake and Miranda was really cool. They’re just two really genuine and real people, and they genuinely care for the people on the team. It wasn’t like, you know, where some coaches might be like “do this!” and then they have no hope. They understood. If you messed up they would start over again and they made sure that you understood. It was a great experience.

Did you get to work with Kelly Clarkson too, or did they divide her and Miranda up?

They divided them up. There was six people with Kelly and six people with Miranda.

Did you at least get to meet Kelly?

No, I didn’t get to meet Kelly Clarkson. I was a little disappointed.

How did you prepare for the Battle Rounds?

Preparing for the Battle Rounds I went in with the mindset of I don’t care, you know, if I lose, if you lose, if I win or the other person wins. I just wanted to go out there and give the best possible show I could because I didn’t want Blake to be like, oh you definitely won. I wanted it to make it hard on the coaches. That’s really the only mindset I had going into it.

If you could record any song on the radio right now, which song would it be?

Oh man that’s hard. My favorite song that’s on the radio right now, it just hit radio, it would either be “Something To Do With My Hands” by Thomas Rhett Akins, or, “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do” by Brantley Gilbert.

I see your style now.

(laughs) Those two are probably my favorite two songs out on radio right now.

If you could tour with any artist, who would it be?

Oh man you’re making it hard on me. I don’t know… touring with Eric Church would be really cool, or touring with Jason Aldean. It seems like those two would be a lot of fun. Brantley or Thomas would be really cool too.. but I think I’d pick Alan Jackson. Alan Jackson is the reason I’m in music and why I play music. Ever since I was little he’s been my biggest influence. If I had the choice with anybody in the world I’d go with AJ.

If you could pick one of the other coaches to work with, who would it be?

I’d probably pick Adam, Team Adam. My music is kind of like country with a southern rock or country-rock edge to it. I think me and Adam would go together really good if me and him got to work together. Somewhat similar styles; we both love rock and roll. We’ve both got that edge to it. I’d go with Adam.

Now are you still in high school right now or are you in college?

Yes ma’am. I’m in high school, I’m a senior in high school.

What do you think you’re going to do after high school?

My plan after high school is to follow music full-force. My dream is to make a career out of it, so I’m hoping that once high school’s over that I can do that.

Now is there anybody from your team that you’re in contact with still?

I keep in touch with mostly everybody that’s on the show right now. Chris and Pip are on Team Adam, and Sera is on Team Christina. We’re gonna have a little meet-and-greet this weekend because we’re all from the Atlanta-area. Adley Stump, the girl who got the last spot on Team Blake on Monday, she was in Nashville about two or three weeks ago so I was writing with her. Brian Fuente… yeah, I keep in touch with everyone.

So you guys are a pretty close bunch?

Oh yeah. When they have you out for the show they kind of get you to stay in the hotel, “don’t talk to anybody, don’t answer any questions, just stay with everybody.” So while we’re filming the show you really have quality time to hang out with people and we’ve really become like a family.

Are you in contact with Blake still or is it all on the show?

I haven’t talked to him in a while, but we would talk to him just about everyday when we were on the show. I haven’t talked to him a whole lot since I came back from L.A. last time.

How nervous were you when you got on-stage in front of all four coaches?

I was walking around backstage pacing back-and-forth just as nervous as could be. I was trying to talk myself down and tell myself that this is just another show. I was so worried, then I stepped on-stage and that all went away. It was just like I was playing another show in my home town.

So was it more excitement when you were out there then?

Oh it definitely turned into excitement just because I had the chance to work with four of the biggest people in music today. That shot just fueled me out there to go out there and do my best, and so I went out there to do it.

So for the fans who aren’t quite familiar with you yet, how would you describe yourself as an artist?

I’m definitely country. Country music is where my heart and soul is at. I love traditional stuff, and I love the outlaws of the 80′s. Like I said, Alan Jackson is a huge, huge influence of mine; but I also have influences in rock music. Southern rock, like rock n’ roll, like Guns N’ Roses kind of stuff. It’s kind of like country with a rock edge.

Is your demo tape available for fans?

It’s available to buy. You can get two of my singles from the demo tape on iTunes [HERE]. You can go listen to the stuff – I’m all over YouTube, and there’s a website called ReverbNation. Go to Reverbnation.com/jordanrager. It’s got every one of my songs on there.

How hard was it keeping your audition a secret from everyone?

It was eating me alive. When we went back home after filming The Blind Auditions; I was so excited about making Team Blake which was three months before they even had a date for airing the show; but I had to keep my mouth shut. The only people who knew anything were my Mom and Dad and they were out there with me. It was really hard because I had all this built-up excitement that I wanted to tell people but I couldn’t tell people anything about it. It was really hard. I would find myself slipping up and almost telling people and would have to bite my tongue.

Do people treat you differently at school?

You know, that was one thing that I was worried about going home. I was worried people were going to start treating me like a celebrity, like I was famous or something, but they really haven’t. You know, my school is really supportive of my music and so are my friends and family. When I go out to shows I’m the kid that’s on The Voice that’s on Team Blake, but when I come home and I’m around my friends and family it’s like just me. It’s the same I’ve always been. It’s like I’m a regular kid.

Are you teachers going to let you have extensions?

When we were in L.A. they would e-mail me my work. I’d get it done and Fed Ex it back to them. I was hoping to maybe, “hey, I’m in L.A. want to give me a free pass?”, but they were like “no, we’ll just send it to you.”

Is there anything else you wanted to say?

Yes, thank you to everyone who’s watched the show so far. Thank you to anybody who’s found my Facebook and Twitter, and all the folks who have supported me all along. I’m so appreciative of it and I wouldn’t be where I am right now without them.

I guess your Twitter kind of blew up, didn’t it?

Oh yeah. The night of the Blind Audition I had 107 followers on Twitter… then once my audition aired it shot up by a 1,000 in an hour. I think I’ve got like 5,000 right now, something around there.

Connect with Jordan by:

@Jordan__Rager
Facebook.com/Jordan-Rager-Music-Fans/

Tune in to The Voice Monday at 8 pm EST on NBC to find out if Jordan makes it to the live round!

The Voice: Team Blake Recap – Week 3

Jeanna D. — Sat, 25 Feb 2012 08:21:42 +0000

With only one more show left of The Voice blind audition rounds, Team Blake is nearly complete!

In weeks one and two, we already met team members RaeLynn, Gwen Sebastian (interview), Jermaine Paul, Erin Willett, Jordis Unga, and Brian Fuente. This past week, Blake added four more members to his crew: Naia Kete, Charlotte Sometimes, ALyX, and Jordan Rager.

Naia Kete

Naia was born in Massachusetts and now hails from California. The twenty-one year old auditioned with a cool, unique version of Bruno Mars’ “The Lazy Song.” Blake and Cee Lo Green battled it out for her, but Naia chose Team Blake!

Via her blog on The Voice official website, Naia shared:

When I started singing, Blake turned around right away! I couldn’t believe it! I was in! Really? Then, towards the end of the song, Cee Lo turned also! TWO coaches!? AMAZING! I just felt so blessed and happy.

Follow Naia on Twitter: @naiakete

Naia’s Audition:

Continue reading to meet the rest of the newest members of Team Blake….

Charlotte Sometimes

Charlotte was born and raised in New Jersey, and moved to New York City after turning eighteen. She performed One Republic’s “Apologize” for the blind audition rounds and wowed the coaches. All four turned their chairs around, but Blake won out!

Charlotte had this to say on her blog:

SO…WOW!I couldn’t believe all four coaches turned around!! I was not expecting that! What surprised me the most was picking Blake! I had originally thought I would pick CeeLo if I had a choice. But in the moment I went with my gut and picked Blake. I am so excited and happy about my choice.

Follow Charlotte on Twitter: @4EverSometimes

Charlotte’s Audition:

ALyX

ALyX hails from Dallas, Texas and auditioned with a rockin’ performance of P!nk’s “Just Like A Pill.” The full performance did not air on television, but you can watch the complete audition below.

ALyX also took to her blog on the official website:

So…in the end, I guess I must have done a good job, because Blake turned around, and became my coach! Go #TEAMBLAKE! The journey begins… :)

Follow ALyX on Twitter: @FollowALyX

ALyX’s Audition:

Jordan Rager

Jordan Rager is a 17-year-old country boy from a small town in Georgia. Again, only part of Jordan’s audition aired on the live broadcast, but you can catch the full performance in the video below. He sang a great cover of Zac Brown Band‘s “Chicken Fried.” Blake turned his chair around and told Jordan, “You’re the first real, genuine country singer in two seasons of The Voice that stepped across this stage. And I’m the only one here that gets it.” We are glad Blake gets it.

Blake is one of Jordan’s biggest musical influences, and he was very excited to be a part of the team:

I got the coach I wanted! Thank you Blake!!!!!! Go Team Blake!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Follow Jordan on Twitter: @Jordan_Rager

Jordan’s Audition:

The pressure is on! There are only two more spots left on Team Blake. Tune in Monday night on NBC at 8/7c to see who claims the final spots.

The contestants are keeping blog and vlogs on The Voice official website. To check out these blogs, behind the scenes videos, interviews, photos, and all things The Voice… visit http://www.nbc.com/the-voice/. Also, full length recordings of the team members’ audition songs are available now on iTunes!

Follow Blake’s twitter: @blakeshelton, and Miranda’s too: @miranda_lambert

In a couple of weeks, Miranda Lambert and Kelly Clarkson (@kelly_clarkson) join Team Blake as mentors! Blake, Miranda, & Kelly?! It doesn’t get much better than that combination. Can I be on Team Blake?

If you missed our preview recaps, here is week 1 and week 2.

Thoughts? Do you have a favorite Team Blake member so far? Sound off in the comments section.