Lauren-Michael Sellers, formerly of Eureka, is making waves on season 26 of the popular televised singing competition, “The Voice” on NBC.
Lauren-Michael Sellers
Sellers received four chair turns during her blind audition on the show, which aired Oct. 15. Performers need at least one celebrity voice judge to turn his or her chair to advance to the next round of the competition, and Sellers said she’s flattered all four – Reba McEntire, Michael Buble, Gwen Stefani and Snoop Dogg – turned around.
Sellers describes her musical influences as a mixture of country, folk and pop, which is why she chose McEntire, the “Queen of Country,” as her coach on “The Voice.” She never wavered in her decision to join McEntire’s team, even after receiving numerous compliments from the other judges.
“Lauren-Michael’s voice was incredible,” McEntire said after Sellers’ audition. “When people are singing, if you can feel it, oh my gosh that’s the greatest feeling. I’m just so thrilled she came to our team.”
After winning a head-to-head battle with one of her teammates on the Oct. 28 show, Sellers advanced through the “knockouts” round on Nov. 18, and was slated to perform in the playoffs, which began Monday after the Leader’s print deadline.
To follow Sellers’ journey, watch “The Voice” episodes on NBC’s streaming platform, Peacock, or watch clips of her past performances on the show’s YouTube channel for free, at youtube.com/@nbcthevoice.
Sellers, 35, of Nashville, Tenn., attended Eureka Elementary and LaSalle Springs Middle schools and nearly a full semester at Eureka High before moving to Alabama.
“I’ve still got some ties with Eureka,” Sellers said. “My youngest brother, Jack Owen, and his father, David Owen, still live there, and I grew up there from second grade to the first part of my (freshman) year. I feel like that was probably the most formative years of my life and when I made the closest friends that I have. I have lifelong friends because of the amazing community over there.”
Growing up fast
Songwriting and singing have long been a safe way for Sellers to express her emotions, especially during tumultuous periods of her childhood. The eldest of five children, Sellers said she grew up very fast.
“I think (songwriting) is part of the therapeutic way of processing trauma or just things in life that you can’t process, especially when it starts so young,” Sellers said. “For me, (singing) was kind of not even an enjoyment or a passion but a necessity – how I survived. I’ve never known myself without music or writing.”
Sellers said her mother is clinically diagnosed as bipolar, schizophrenic and has grandiose delusion disorder. Due to those diagnoses and her mother’s addiction issues, Sellers said she raised her younger siblings largely on her own. Sellers’ mother lost custody of her children when Sellers was a freshman at Eureka High.
“For me, I had to grow up and be the mom,” Sellers said. “I had to step up or nobody else would. I had to protect them and feed them and figure that out. I used to be very angry about it. I used to look up at the sky and ask, ‘Why God, why? Why does this always have to be so hard?’ and now I see it more in the sense, that I don’t know if I would have written the music I have or if I would have been able to perform with the emotion that I perform with because it comes from that place.”
Sellers said many Rockwood School District teachers motivated her to pursue singing and songwriting as an outlet for her thoughts and feelings, including Montize Aaron, a former fifth grade teacher at Eureka Elementary; Donna Baker, a choir teacher at Eureka High; and Susie Allmendinger, a retired theater director at Eureka High.
“A lot of people in Eureka have been in my corner and still are, and that’s such a blessing – they’ve been in my corner for this long,” Sellers said.
Allmendinger said Sellers was in her Theater I class in 2004, and casted Sellers in one of the lead roles in the fall musical “Sweet Charity” – a rarity for underclassmen.
“She was just an amazing young lady, so confident, responsible and dedicated,” Allmendinger said. “I was excited by the prospect of getting her ready for college and for college auditions. I had this vision for her, so when she came to me and told me she was moving in the middle of the musical, I was devastated. We all were.”
Though their time together was brief, Sellers said she was grateful to have Allmendinger as a mentor. The two have recently reconnected on social media, and Allmendinger said she is watching Sellers’ music career closely and cheering her on.
“I think the most important thing Miss A did for me – that was when my life was really kind of unraveling because my mom lost custody of all of us the year she started teaching me – was that she created this safe space, she saw me, she acknowledged me,” Sellers said. “She cast me as one of the leads for a musical as a freshman, and I remember that being huge for me. It was a huge moment. I wasn’t just the oldest of five kids fighting every day to survive, I could also do this.”
Finding faith
Sellers has lived in Nashville for the last four years, working as a special education teacher and music director for a church. She earned a bachelor’s degree in music theory and composition from Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, Ala., before going on to earn a master’s degree in education from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Ala., and another master’s degree in special education from the University of West Alabama in Livingston.
Since advancing from the blind auditions on “The Voice,” Sellers said she chose to “take a leap of faith” and pursue a career in singing and songwriting full time.
For the last several years, Sellers said she has found a strengthened sense of faith, in part because of the strong community at her church.
“I didn’t have a really strong sense of faith, because I was very angry with God for a lot of years,” she said. “But the congregation fills my cup in a very huge way. Just like music does, it helps me realize that I’m not alone and that there are things we grapple with that we can’t ever truly understand but if we see them through the lens of faith, that’s helpful.”
When Sellers was asked by “The Voice” host Carson Daly which judge she would like to coach her through the rest of the competition, Sellers said she had recited McEntire’s prayer, “Holy Spirit, walk with me, talk with me, sing for me, speak for me,” before the performance, which guided her decision.
“For me, it was not hard to pick, even though I am enamored by and absolutely adore the other coaches, I prayed about it and went with where I felt like I was being called,” Sellers said. “(McEntire) is very concise and doesn’t hold back her punches. She’s very intentional and very gracious, but she’s also very honest. That’s something I value above anything else. I wanted the wisdom, the grace, the kindness, but I also wanted the kind of like ‘iron sharpens iron’ moment of, ‘Hey, let me help you do better, this is why I can help you be better.’”
Faith in the future
While Sellers couldn’t divulge how the show is panning out before it airs, she said regardless of the show’s results, the advice McEntire has given her will prove invaluable for her future in music.
Sellers also said she’s met other artists who she looks forward to collaborating with either on albums or on tour in the future.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” she said. “A lot of these people I’ve met throughout this process, I’ll never forget.”
Allmendinger, who admits she may be a bit biased, said Sellers is the best contestant on the show.
“From my perspective, knowing how talented she was at 13, 14 years old, and hearing her sing now, wow, she has grown so much, and she is much more refined,” Allmendinger said. “You can either be a victim of your circumstances or you can rise above them, and she has definitely risen above them. I don’t know if I’ve ever met someone more deserving of having their dreams come true.
“She deserves this.”