Her audition: Michelle Raitzin, 21, of Great Neck, N.Y., auditioned with “God Bless the Broken Road” and got Blake Shelton to turn his chair. Apparently he was the only one, though he proclaimed “how do you not push your button” after landing Michelle.
Battle Round: She was defeated by Voice roommate Holly Tucker on their version of “Blown Away;” she was not saved.
Her background: Had The Voice shown more than a tiny snippet of Michelle’s audition we might have learned that her great uncle, Misha Raitzin, was the principal tenor at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York and that she began her own vocal career at age 10. According to her website, she was hired to sing on nine Kids Bop CDs, two Barbie Hits CDs and a Pottery Barn Christmas CD.
On her coach: “I like that he (Blake) doesn’t only focus on country. He had Jermaine, who won the show. I like that he’s diverse. And he seems to really, really care about each artist. He seems like a very genuine, kind, caring person. What more can you ask for?”
What the show didn’t show: Michelle describes herself as a contemporary pop-soul singer. At age 17, she released a self-titled pop album and had co-writing credits on seven songs. Several are catchy in a young and fun sort of way. Check out “Boy Toy” and “Shame.” She has also appeared as a guest singer on three albums by the Danish rock band Royal Hunt and toured with that group. Michelle is a student at Berklee. And you can check out two of her more recent originals on her website. Her YouTube page is loaded with covers, two of which are embedded below.
Quote: “Toward the end (of her audition), Blake pushed the button, the most amazing moment of my life so far. He turned around and it was like I heard the (insert heavenly musical noise). Like an angel from heaven. And he looked beautiful.”
On iTunes: Her audition song, “Bless the Broken Road” plus a 2009 self-titled pop album.
Keeping up with Michelle
Twitter: @MichelleRaitzin
Facebook
YouTube Channel
Website
“Jar of Hearts” (Christina Perri cover)
“Back to Black” (Amy Winehouse cover)
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5 Comments
Ridiculous to state that Misha Raitzin was the principal tenor of the Metropolitan Opera. There were tenors who sang there far more times than Misha Raitzin. Plus, a big opera company like the Met does NOT have a “principal tenor”. Dozens of tenors sing at the Met every season.
According to the press & his bio, Misha Raitzin is referred to as a lead and/or principal tenor of the Metropolitan Opera House.