Grygla teens try out for NBC’s “The Voice”

It was a quick, but exhilarating, trip to Chicago, Illinois, this past weekend for two Grygla teens! Kaitlyn Olson, daughter of Greg and Shaunna Olson, and Bailey Watne, daughter of David Watne and Juanita Watne, headed to Chicago to try out for NBC’s reality show “The Voice.”

Leaving by car last Friday morning, January 20th, for their Saturday afternoon tryouts, the girls were anxious! Bailey’s mom, Juanita, drove the two to Chicago for their audition, which they tackled as a duo.

Kaitlyn and Bailey were among 30,000 hopefuls that Saturday. Expressing how long they had to wait for their audition, the two were finally ushered into a room with 10 other artists where they were set to perform in front of each other, along with a producer of the show. Kaitlyn and Bailey sang “Little Do You Know” by Alex and Sierra. Each performer is asked to sing the chorus and one verse of their song, lasting about 45 seconds. What the performers are hoping for is a red card, which means they advance to the next round of auditions. Unfortunately, none of the 10 in Kaitlyn and Bailey’s room were given that card.

Bailey’s mom was able to go into the room with the girls and offered, “The girls were the only duo in the room. After everyone auditioned, no one was asked to sing again nor did anyone receive a red card, unfortunately.” Watne said there were some amazing voices in that room, but the producer explained how they are looking for more than just a great voice as they have a high-ratings reality show they need to produce, saying they can’t have too much of the same thing every season.

Bailey, who described her experience as “enticing,” is a 9th grader at Grygla High School while Kaitlyn, who described her experience as “breathtaking,” is a senior. Both girls said that, although it didn’t go in their favor, the Chicago trip to audition for The Voice was totally worth it!