By Sasha Ryu, Contributor
In June, instead of attending her college graduation alongside her classmates and friends, Hazel Gerson was in Los Angeles, auditioning for the 30th season of NBC’s “The Voice.” A month earlier, she’d made the bittersweet decision to move out of her house at California Polytechnic State University and give up what she called an “irreplaceable” time of her life for the chance to perform on one of the biggest stages in music.
The day after she submitted her 20-page senior thesis, Gerson had her “blind” audition, where the show’s four celebrity coaches would sit with their backs to the stage and judge her based on her voice alone. In order to earn a spot in the competition, Gerson needed at least one judge to hear her voice and decide to spin their chair around to recruit her to their team.
Gerson had no idea what to expect, so she said she tried not to get her hopes up.
Maybe they won’t want me, she thought.
However, as soon as Gerson started singing, the judges liked what they heard. Moments after Gerson began her rendition of Alex Clare’s “Too Close,” Kelly Clarkson spun her chair. Then, Coach Riley Green followed suit.
After giving Gerson’s performance a standing ovation, Clarkson began to compete with Green to recruit Gerson to her team. Both of the coaches jokingly tried to give Gerson their clothes to convince her to take them on as her mentor. Clarkson even went as far as to take the hair extensions off her head and present them to Gerson as another offering.
Clarkson told Gerson she was so passionate about becoming her mentor because she wanted to help the 21-year-old grow as a vocalist.
“I loved your sound, but what I would love to work on with you is releasing that last level,” Clarkson said. “There’s so much more in there. Not only vocally, I mean like your actual spirit. When I was watching you, I was like, just let it out. I just want that lion in there.”
Gerson, a Clarkson fan since she was 3 years old, said the coach’s challenge made her feel seen.
“I’m really bad with decisions but this is an easy one,” Gerson said to the judges. Then, she told them she was choosing Team Kelly.
Since Gerson’s performance aired in September, the video of her blind audition has already been viewed over 2.6 million times on YouTube alone. For thousands of people, this was their introduction to Gerson, but many people in Los Gatos have known about the singer’s musical talent since she was in elementary school.
Gerson’s path to the stage began in third-grade, when she performed at her first school talent show. She sang behind a cardboard box with puppets because she said she was too afraid of people watching her perform — a fear she later learned to overcome.
“As I grew older, I just kept wanting to be on stage, even though it terrified me,” she said.
(Griffin Nagel/NBC)
Music runs in Gerson’s family. Her sisters also sing, her father runs an independent record label and her mother is an artist and vocal coach.
“My mom would play shows when she was pregnant with me,” Gerson said. “So, I almost think that from listening to her perform, I started getting a voice of my own.”
As a baby, before she even knew how to talk, Gerson would hum melodies when she wanted to get her mom’s attention. At age 7, she wrote her first song, entitled “Pink and Purple.” She hasn’t stopped writing since.
Gerson released her first single during the pandemic in 2020 and has since put out 11 singles and a four-song EP. At Cal Poly, she fronted a band, The No Shows, for four years.
On TikTok and Instagram, Gerson shares more of her voice, posting covers of her favorite songs as well as performances of her original music. She plays guitar, piano and drums, and her musical influences include Ella Fitzgerald, Olivia Rodrigo as well as her new coach and mentor, Kelly Clarkson.
Gerson said she hopes to be the kind of role model for young women that these artists were for her.
“I feel like, as people, we have a responsibility to offer something to others,” Gerson said. “I feel like, for me, that’s music.”
New episodes of “The Voice” air at 8 p.m. PDT Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC and stream the next day on Peacock. Gerson is expected to appear next in the show’s battle rounds, which begin after the blind auditions finish airing.
Once the live shows begin, viewers can vote for Gerson or any of their other favorite candidates over text message or on TikTok.
