Birmingham musician wows judges in amazing ‘The Voice’ audition

Birmingham is no stranger to tv-talent-show stardom — with winners from “American Idol,” contestants on “Dancing with the Stars” and others — but the latest Magic City star in the making is Lauren-Michael Sellers, who recently auditioned for “The Voice.”

Sellers, a Birmingham native who has been a strong presence in the local music scene for many years, impressed all four judges on “The Voice” enough for each of them to court her for their respective teams.

Lauren-Michael Sellers on ‘The Voice’

Sellers performed on Season 26, Episode 5 (for those of you who missed it live and want to stream it) to judges Michael Buble, Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani and Snoop Dogg.

Her song, “Oceans (Where Feet May Fail)” was immediately recognized by Stefani upon the first note, and Stefani turned her chair around (which means the judge wants that contestant on their team). Buble followed, and McEntire soon turned around as well. Snoop was the last to turn around, but said later it was because he was so into the song at the time.

The song, a traditional Christian tune, prompted Snoop Dogg to say, “I feel like God was in this room here.”

When faced with a decision to choose a judge as a coach, Sellers ended up choosing McEntire.

Here is Sellers’ performance:

Sellers no stranger to winning contests

Sellers has been part of the Birmingham music scene for some time now. In fact, in 2011, Birmingham Mountain Radio held an open mic contest at the now-defunct Barking Kudu bar in Lakeview, in an “American Idol” style competition.

Dozens of local musicians signed up, with Sellers emerging as the winner. The prize was the opportunity to record with renown producer Lester Nuby at Birmingham’s Ol’ Elegante Studios.

Nuby, who has decades of music production experience, said Sellers blew him away with her talent.

“Lauren-Michael possesses more raw, natural talent than any other vocalist I had ever worked with before. I had to ‘up my game’ to keep up with her.”

Lester Nuby, co-founder, Ol’ Elegante Studios

Sellers moves on to the next round of “The Voice,” where she will be paired with another member of McIntyre’s team for a duet.

Watch “The Voice” on NBC.

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