University of Iowa student advances on NBC’s ‘The Voice’ with Gwen Stefani’s team

When University of Iowa student Eli Ward first auditioned for The Voice on NBC, it started as kind of a joke.

The Waterloo, Illinois, native grew up in a musical household, but hadn’t exercised his voice in a few years. Now a senior majoring in interdepartmental business studies, he had dedicated most of his focus to his education.

But after playing guitar accompaniment for another friend’s open call audition for the show, he auditioned on a whim at his friend’s suggestion. He submitted a 90-second cover of Coldplay’s “Yellow” in January, not expecting to hear back.

But he did — and the ensuing process has delivered some of the most enjoyable months of his life.

“I wasn’t doing anything that day,” said Ward, 21. “The rest has been a dream."

At his blind audition introduction to the country, aired on Oct. 16, two celebrity coaches confirmed his voice was no joke as they pushed their buttons to do the dramatic chair turn that tells contestants on stage they’re wanted for the coach’s team.

The blind audition

As Ward stepped on stage toward the end of the episode, the teams for the four coaches were filling up. Though he hoped to be matched with John Legend or Irish singer-songwriter Niall Horan, whose genres best fit his voice’s strengths, he knew he just had to get one judge to hit their button.

Starting strong with the first emotional notes of Lewis Capaldi’s “Bruises,” Ward began to channel the emotions he’d connected with ever since he exhausted the song’s album from cover to cover in high school. With a passion for music instilled from early childhood, he put to practice what he learned from his mother: how to connect with music on an emotional level.

“There’s more than rhythm, words and notes,” Ward said. “My biggest (reason for my) choice with that song was it starts soft and goes somewhere. You’re telling a story the whole time.”

His strategy worked. In fact, it worked almost too well.

After pop star Gwen Stefani and country icon Reba McEntire turned around to say “I want you,” Ward started getting nervous. His pitch faltered as he powered through the song.

“To be performing in front of four coaches that are absolute legends was nerve-wracking,” Ward told The Gazette. “I haven’t done that recently, as far as singing in front of people.”

But the judges didn’t seem to mind, commenting on his raw, vulnerable talent that had plenty of room for coaching on the growth-oriented competition.

“It’s a different tone. I love your approach to everything,” McEntire said. “It really appealed to me.”

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“You started off so good,” Gwen noted. “That tells me that you have so much potential. … I love raw talent.”

Why he picked Gwen Stefani

With a choice between Gwen Stefani and Reba McEntire, Ward had a few considerations that led him to pick the former.

On the one hand, he thought Gwen was an “angel.” On the other, Reba was a “queen.”

“Most of Reba’s team was cowboys. If I got matched up against a cowboy, I don’t think I could win,” Ward said.

Stefani’s team, by that point, was mostly women not specializing in his type of genre, meaning he might have more of a chance to stand out. She also had some cool hoodies, and he wanted a more tangible souvenir to keep — something that would last longer than the Tater Tots McEntire serves to new teammates.

“(Stefani) was just strikingly human,” Ward said after choosing her. “Every moment I get to work with Gwen is a dream come true.”

How he hopes to stand out

Ward’s preparation for the battle round with Stefani, airing Oct. 31, has involved tackling the nerves that got the best of him in his blind audition.

“She was adamant about helping with nerves. It was a big confidence thing, as far as nerves go,” he said.

Realizing the gravity of the competition is what made him stumble, at first. For the next round, he has worked on staying lighthearted and positive — having fun the same way he does when singing with friends — to smooth out his performance as his voice ascends and descends the scales. His nonstop vocal work, so far, has focused on learning how to blend his voice and create the best result in a head-to-head round.

It’s about more than who can sing the coolest, highest or loudest notes.

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In a competition full of very talented performers, he’s betting that his determination, work ethic and skilled vocal work will set him apart to earn a grand prize of $100,000 and a record deal with Universal Music Group.

“I think I can use my range of musicianship, whether that’s dynamics or tone changes, to show there’s more to a song than how you sing it,” Ward explained. “It’s how you feel it.”

For a while, the small-time band member didn’t pursue music full time, likening the odds of successful stardom to that of an athlete making the big professional leagues. But now, he sees an opening.

“There’s a lot more in music than just being the world’s biggest household name and selling out Madison Square Garden,” Ward said. “I’d love to do that … but there’s so much more you can do outside of that. It comes down to (whether) you can work hard.”

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