INTERVIEW: The Voice’s Cait Martin on Her Love for Music, Four-Chair Turn, and Newfound Trust in Herself

Season 23 of NBC’s The Voice is well underway, and this new lineup of contestants, like Cait Martin, are giving everything they have to prove to the coaches, and America, that they should be the next champion of The Voice.

This season, the coaching panel includes Niall Horan, Kelly Clarkson, Chance the Rapper, and Blake Shelton, the only original coach on the panel, who will be leaving after the conclusion of this season. So far this season, the coaches have seen an abundance of talent in their contestants during the Blind Auditions, in which they choose whether or not they want a contestant on their team solely by their voice. Once the coaches turn their chair, they find out what the contestant looks like and gets to enjoy the rest of their performance.

One contestant in particular, Cait Martin, wowed all four judges and earned the coveted four-chair turn. The Georgia native performed a stripped-down version of Harry Styles’ “As It Was,” which prompted Kelly Clarkson to turn her chair immediately, and the other coaches followed suit.

Martin spoke with Glitter about her reason for auditioning, her feelings throughout her audition, and her plans to keep her momentum going throughout the rest of the competition.

BRITTANY: Thank you so much for joining me and speaking to us and our Glitter readers. How are you today?

CAIT: I’m fabulous today.

BRITTANY: I love that. You look fabulous. I love your hair and your outfit. You look amazing.

CAIT: Thank you.

BRITTANY: So, to start off, let’s go back even to before The Voice. What stemmed your love for music?

CAIT: When I was about two years old, I was singing along to every Disney movie that they could find. And I would ask for Gaston by name. I think I was in love with him, but I just started singing along with all the Disney princesses, and that’s when my grandma was like, “Okay, I think she likes this, and she’s good at this.” So singing has just always been something that’s come so natural to me. It’s just been the core of who I am, and I’ve always done it.

BRITTANY: So when it came time to audition for The Voice, what was that like? What was that moment that, you know, you said, “I’m going to do this, I want to do this. I’m going to audition?”

CAIT: Well, you know, I had submitted a video audition a couple of years ago, But, you know, after going through some family loss, the pandemic, I just had stopped performing, and I had lost my love for it. I was reached out to for this current season by a producer who had seen my original audition and was like, “You know, we couldn’t get you into it a while ago, but we would love to have you for this current season if you’d like to if you’d like to audition for us again.” And so I just started that process, and I kind of got out of my little bubble and was like, okay, it’s now or never, so let’s do this.

BRITTANY: That’s great. And, you know, I want to talk a little bit about the Blind Auditions. First of all, congratulations on making it through. That’s not something that’s easy and then, especially on television. So congratulations on that. We’re going to talk about your amazing success afterward. But take me back to that moment. You know, you’re about to step on stage, and you’re about to audition for the panel of coaches. What’s going through your head?

CAIT: Well, right before I went out, you know, I had one of the producers come up and talk to me. “You know, your family is going to be there.” Actually, she didn’t say that. She said, “Think about your sister, who’s with you always, you know.” And so I had that. And in the back of my mind and in my heart, like, just do as well as you can and make her proud. And when I came to step out onto the stage, you step up the stairs, you know, there’s the stage. And then, down on the other side, I could see my parents. So just seeing them that last second before I turned and faced all the four chairs with the names, with the backs of the names, knowing that they were on the other side, like, “Okay, just you’ve sung on a thousand stages before. This is just another stage. Ignore the chairs, ignore the cameras, and just go for it.” And I did.

BRITTANY: Tell me how much that moment of being there and being, you know, auditioning right in front of these judges, what did that moment mean to you?

CAIT: That moment felt like the culmination of just everything that I’ve gone through as a vocalist, not even professionally but emotionally as well. Going, you know, being an entertainer is a hard business. And, you know, there’s a lot of rejection. There’s a lot of wondering if you’re good enough if you should continue to do this, you know, and being on the stage and performing and just feeling good about it, regardless of if I were to get a chair turn or not, was just a really validating feeling to have made it to that point.

BRITTANY: That’s amazing to hear. You sang a stripped-down version of “As It Was” by Harry Styles. Can you tell me a little bit about why that song?

CAIT: “As It Was” by Harry Styles, for sure, is a song that I connected with because it feels good. But once I listened to the lyrics a little bit more, it’s about being in a transitional period in your life. For me, I took that, as you know, things are not the way that they have ever been. They will never be that way again. But there can still be good. There can still be something worth going forward with, whether that be a relationship, whether that be a career goal, whether that could be, you know, a reconnection with family or a passion that you have. You know, even though things change, they can still be good. So I wanted to sing the song in a way that sort of reflected how I emotionally connected lyrically, which is what led me to make a more stripped-down version. And I did that with the help of my vocal coach, Noelle Smith, who is absolutely fantastic. I would recommend her to anyone who wants to sing any notes ever.

BRITTANY: Well, listen, we know she’s amazing because your audition was absolutely amazing. Now, I have to ask, you sang a song by Harry Styles, and we know that this season, Niall Horan is one of the judges. Were there any nerves? Was there any feeling going into that? Like, ooh, like, I really got to do good on this? What was that like?

CAIT: Well, listen, I got accepted into being part of the season of The Voice before we even knew who the coaches were. We actually found out after having rehearsed the song for a few weeks there at NBC. And once I found out that was now, my first question was, “Are they cool, or are they beefing?” Like, I need to know if they’re friends. Do they love each other? Because if I sing the song in front of him and he hates them, there’s no way I’m getting a turn. And they’re like, “No, they love each other. They’re best friends.” I’m like, “Okay, cool, cool, cool,” because One Direction, like, I was super familiar with them, knew their music, knew the members and everything like that. But my boy band era was like NSYNC. So like, I kept up. I’m like, “I don’t keep up with the current One Direction I don’t know.” But once I’m like, “Okay, I just wanted to do a good job for somebody who’s connected to that artist and like has respect for their friendship.” So hearing his response was, was really great.

BRITTANY: That’s awesome. We know you got a four-chair turn, and that means all four judges, Niall Horan, Kelly Clarkson, Chance, the rapper, and Blake Shelton, all turned their chairs for you. Can you tell me what was that moment like when you saw the first chair turn up until you saw that final chair turn?

CAIT: Well, see, Kelly turned almost instantly. You know, I got the first line of the song out, and she had turned around. And so automatically there was just like this sigh of relief like, okay, well, now you can just perform it. You know, you have to have the pressure being like, make sure the end is good. So somebody turns around, and she’s like, All right, I can bounce it off. But once Kelly turned, I had a little bit more calmness, and then Niall turned. I couldn’t tell. I wasn’t looking at the coaches, so it took me watching the blind back on television to know who turned when. Because after she turned, I was just looking past them, like, just getting through the song. And so it was so cool to see all of them turn around. And then once I realized that they all had, it was just this just feeling of like joy and again, like validation that, you know, the concept for the song and coming up there and really just pouring my heart into it and into that audition really paid off. So it was a great feeling.

BRITTANY: Now, let me ask you, did it feel like an out-of-body experience in a way? Like when you watched it back on TV where you kind of like, I don’t remember doing any of that because, like, you just were it was an out-of-body experience.

CAIT: I remember singing it. I don’t remember moving or like making any kind of connection with anyone because it’s not just the chairs on the stage in the audience, but the cameras are there, too. And it’s like trying to ignore that the cameras exist as well. So I was trying as hard as I could to just connect with the emotion of the song and just hope that my voice would just do what it needed to do without me having to think about it too much. And luckily, that’s what happened to me.

BRITTANY: We see how it worked out, and with that, let me reiterate you had the choice between Kelly Clarkson, Chance, the rapper Niall Horan, and Blake Shelton, and ultimately you chose Kelly Clarkson. Can you tell me why, Kelly?

CAIT: Why, Kelly? It’s pretty simple for me. I’ve always respected Kelly as a vocalist. You know, she’s the OG of the reality vocal competitions, but what she’s been able to do with her career as a vocalist, the way she sings. Every song, no matter what genre it is, she just makes it. Kelly. I wanted to be able to. To do that on a career level, You know, how can she help me take my voice and take my passion for music and turn it into something that can resonate with anyone? You know, so it was always Kelly before we even knew it was the coaches. You know, I was asked, you know, “if you could be with any coach in all of The Voice history, who would you choose?” And I like “Kelly Clarkson 100%.” So finding out she was a coach is one thing. It just like blew my mind. And then for her to turn for me as quickly as she did too, I just like my heart just stopped in that second. I was like, pull it back together and finish the song. You got to just go. So it was truly, like, so honored. She connected with me and my voice.

BRITTANY: At that point. I mean, it’s a no-brainer. That was your first choice. She was the first one to turn like, of course. But, you know, after you choose your coach and you step off the stage. What was that reaction from your family like?

CAIT: Oh, my goodness. Well, you can kind of see in the audition that my mom was screaming for Kelly backstage from the second that the song was over. It was such a cool moment because after I chose Kelly, she, you know, ran off the stage and ran over to my parents to give them both a big hug. So it really felt like, okay, I belong here. I made the right decision with this coach.

BRITTANY: That’s awesome. What is the reception from viewers been like?

CAIT: Phenomenal. Like, I didn’t know that the way I sang the song would resonate with so many people. Some people had never even heard the song before. And they were like, how didn’t I hear, it was the song of the year, first of all. But, for those who hadn’t heard it, they were like, “Wow, this version of the song is the only version of the song I ever want to listen to.” I’m like, “Wow, that is an incredible, incredible compliment.” I have also had people who have more technically sound ears for music. They study music. They know music to really pick out some of the nuances and intricacies in my voice that I’ve worked on my entire vocal career. So to know that people are just like, Yeah, that sounds nice. I like that. But they can hear some of the more difficult things that I’ve worked on for so long and be able to appreciate them. That also feels really, really good.

BRITTANY: Well, that’s so great to hear. I also want to ask, have you been able to interact with any of your teammates on Team Kelly or any of the contestants in general?

CAIT: Oh, yeah, constantly. We’re in constant communication. There are actually too many group chats. That’s how we are. I can say a lot of the people helped us because we have an incredible production staff that helped us. They were like, “Wow, your season has been one of the most caring seasons where all of the contestants really, really support each other, and they really love each other.” And we just, you know, learned really early on that it’s not it is a competition, but being hateful towards each other is not going to make me sing better than you. It’s not going to make them pick me over you in any way. So why not just encourage and uplift each other in every way that we can so that everyone can go out of their doing their best, feeling their best feeling proud of what they did on national television. So it feels good. I love them all so much.

BRITTANY: I think that’s so important, especially in this industry, which is really tough, I think to have that support system of people who know what you’re going through. I think that’s so important to have. As you mentioned, you know, it’s a lot more beneficial to raise one another up than to tear each other down, and it makes the experience all the more enjoyable.

CAIT: Yeah, it has. And it’s made it such a bonding experience that I’ll have like friends for life for sure. And I’m just honored to be in this group of vocalists because we have some incredible talent. If you think about it, everybody has that first stage, first sing jitters when you go, and you step out on the stage. So like, when we’re going into the battles as we’ve already conquered the stage, we’ve already got a coach now, so a lot of those jitters can go away. You never completely get nerve free. But just thinking about how everyone was the most nervous on their blind, and they still sounded incredible. Like it’s just going to be such an amazing show. And I can’t wait for everyone to watch this season because it’s going to be very, very, very good.

BRITTANY: We can’t wait to watch either. Just by just based on the blinds, it’s going to be a really, really good season. So looking forward to the future rounds of this season. Do you have maybe any surprises and strategies up your sleeve to help you in the competition?

CAIT: Well, I’ve already told myself that I wanted to go into this with, like. Integrity. And you know, especially for the battles, it’s really easy to kind of be like, “Well, maybe I’ll do this or like put the arrange so that I shine more,” and, you know, or just things like that. But going into this next round, I really wanted to make it feel like a duet. And I said, “Let’s perform this song so well that like either one of us gets stolen.” And there’s this introduction of the playoff pass that’s this season, or one of us gets the playoff passed. Let’s just make it a duet and not a competition between the two of us so that we do so well; they can’t deny us. So with every performance that I want to do, I want to make sure that I’m just being honest and truthful in my storytelling and hope that my voice wants to follow me on that path that day like fingers crossed and honey and steam. But I felt really good walking away from what I did on the show.

BRITTANY: We’re still a little bit early in the season, but so far in this process, is there. Has there been anything new that you’ve learned about yourself?

CAIT: I’ve learned to trust myself a lot more. 1,000%. I am. My sister was kind of like my sounding board. So when I lost her, I was like, “Okay, well, I’ll never, ever be able to make a decision by myself, ever. Like, I can’t. I just can’t.” But taking this leap of faith to do this and saying, “All right, trust yourself, trust your instincts, trust your experience that you’ve had.” And every step of the way, when I’ve trusted myself, it has paid off. So I learned to trust my instincts, trust who I am as a person, be proud of myself when I do really well, and not be too hard on myself when I don’t live up to my own expectations because we can be our own worst critics. And just to do everything that you can do with kindness.

BRITTANY: Lastly, I want to ask you, what advice do you have for somebody who wants to do The Voice but is a little hesitant?

CAIT: Trust yourself. There’s no wrong decision. Every step you take forward is a step in the right direction. And whether or not, like when I submitted my videos, I didn’t hear back for a while, you know, But I learned a little bit more. I got a little bit better, and then right at the right time, the opportunity found me. Right. So just trust yourself. And if it doesn’t happen right now, continue to walk forward on the path that you’re supposed to go on, and your purpose will come to you and break a leg. Have fun.

BRITTANY: Absolutely. Trust is key. But, Cait, I want to thank you so much for taking the time out to speak with me. We are so excited to see you for the rest of this season. We wish you all the best, and we will be watching.

CAIT: Thank you so much.

Watch the full interview with Cait Martin below.

The Voice airs Mondays at 8:00 P.M. and on Tuesdays at 9:00 P.M. on NBC and the next day on Peacock.