Local ‘The Voice’ contestant dishes on meeting his idols and what’s next
Jus Jon had a lot on his mind during his first performance on “The Voice.”
His mom, Raquel, suffers from multiple sclerosis and had a seizure that day. Worried, he was ready to leave California and head back to Newport News to be with her.
“That’s why, I think, Kelly said I was a little nervous,” said 30-year-old Jon during an interview last week. “That morning, I had a long conversation with my grandmother about coming home.”
But his grandmother told him not to leave.
“Your mama wouldn’t want you to come home,” she said to him. “Be strong. We’ve got her. Don’t worry about it. You’re going to get through this. Just stay out there.”
He listened, earned a spot on Team Blake, and won a battle round before being eliminated in the knockouts.
During his tenure on the show, he met two of his idols — John Legend and returning mega mentor Usher — and got praise that will stick with him forever.
For instance, Jon was happy to hear Gwen Stefani say she can’t believe he’s not signed yet.
“I don’t know why I’m not signed yet,” Jon said about his vocal abilities.
For his final performance, he sang “Finesse” by Bruno Mars.
Stefani loved his dance moves, calling the performance effortless — something that left Jon floored because he doesn’t consider himself much of an organized dancer.
“Everybody keeps telling me I can dance even though I know I can’t,” Jon said with a laugh. “If you ask me to do the dougie, I’m going to be like ‘Nah, I’m good.’
But I do what I feel.”
Performing in front of everyone on the show had its nerve-wracking moments, he said, especially the blind auditions.
It can be even tougher when onlookers include singers you look up to. He said he grew up studying Usher, looking up to his tone, riffs, emotions and vibing to songs like “Here I Stand,” “U Got It Bad” and “Nice and Slow.”
His performances on “The Voice” earned him multiple comparisons to the R&B singer. But for Jon, the coolest part was hearing from the man himself.
“You know, I see why people compared you to me,” Jon recalled Usher saying to him. “He actually accepted the fact that people were comparing me to him.”
He said he had to put in work while rehearsing in front of the singer and his coach, Blake Shelton.
“There was a lot of effort and practice that went into making that song what I wanted it to be, even though I lost,” Jon said.
He chose “Finesse” because he wanted to show off his vocability, energy and stage presence. Jon thinks he may have underestimated the song.
“I probably could’ve performed the song better,” he said. “That’s why I’m home right now, but all in all, it’s all a learning experience. Now, I know the next time I do something of this magnitude, to definitely pick a song so that I leave a little doubt.”
Jon deems “Dancing with a Stranger” his best performance during the competition, and said he crushed it.
Singing different songs and competing on shows of this sort can help artists learn more about their strengths and weaknesses, he said.
“Now I know if I’m going to do
it, I’m going to go for the jugular,” he said. “I’m going to kill it. I’m not out there to leave anything to chance.”
Although Jon has been eliminated, he said it’s not the last folks will see of him.
“The next time you see me on TV, it will be because of me and not because of a show,” said Jon, who plans to release a single around Christmas, followed by an album next year.
Jon started the album before he joined the show, he said. He plans to record some visuals and possibly try to get signed.
“Gwen said it best. She doesn’t see why I’m not signed, so I’m going to try to put myself in that position,” Jon said.
He said a lot of people haven’t heard his original music. It’ll be a little different from what he performed on the show.
“On the show, I did a lot of pop, R&B-ish music,” he said. “On this album, you can expect a lot of ballads and soul music. I’m going to show off my voice even more. You’ll get a lot of emotion.”
While competing, he made a few friends along the way, and reveled in the opportunity to meet talented artists like Usher and Kane Brown together.
It gave them a chance to share experiences and emotions.
“When Kane came, I got the experience with Payton,” he recalled. “It was dope, not being alone in that moment. Everybody’s experience with each mentor was different and we would come together and talk about our different experiences and the guidance and the things that they told us to do.”
He said he speaks to John Holiday just about every day.
“That’s my buddy,” he said about the Texan, who recently wowed judges with his performance of “All By Myself.”
Some folks were surprised to find out when he returned home, but greeted him with open arms.
He said his mother is doing amazing now, and she was able to watch all of his performances.
She loved them, he said. “People don’t understand what I go through with my mom, and what goes through my mind because you only get one mom,” he said.
“I get through it and I use the music to express that.”
He ended up inspiring more people than he imagined.
“I was doing this for me and my mom, and now I’m doing it for all of VA,” he said. “All my classmates and all my friends are just like ‘Wow man. You’ve done this for so long and you haven’t given up.’”
He thinks it’s important for folks to know that the road may be long, but it’s worth persevering.
“Not giving up goes a long way,” he said. “Keep the course. Keep the faith, and everything will work out.”