{"id":5675,"date":"2020-12-04T07:41:25","date_gmt":"2020-12-04T13:41:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin-new\/?post_type=campus_story&p=5675"},"modified":"2020-12-04T07:41:25","modified_gmt":"2020-12-04T13:41:25","slug":"uw-la-crosse-alum-stars-on-hit-singing-show-the-voice","status":"publish","type":"campus_story","link":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/story\/uw-la-crosse-alum-stars-on-hit-singing-show-the-voice\/","title":{"rendered":"UW-La Crosse alum stars on hit singing show “The Voice”"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Aaron Scott, a 2007 alum of UW-La Crosse, was featured this fall on NBC’s “The Voice.” Scott passed his blind audition and stamped his ticket to Hollywood. Competing on the show, he says, was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

For Aaron Scott, the road to stardom began in a dorm room.<\/p>\n

In 2005-06, Scott was a junior at UW-La Crosse \u2014 spending his days studying art education, wishing he was on the football team and experimenting with his friend\u2019s recording software.<\/p>\n

It was the last of these pastimes that led to Scott\u2019s recent and remarkable appearance on NBC\u2019s \u201cThe Voice,\u201d where he broke through the round of blind auditions and stamped his ticket to Hollywood.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was always interested in music \u2014 growing up, my mom played piano and was a singer at our church,\u201d notes Scott, \u201907, a special education teacher in the Tomah Area School District. \u201cBut it was my friend, Micah Juliot, who taught me guitar and made some music with me there in Coate Hall, that really sparked my interest. I joined a band with some friends after graduation, and that\u2019s when I got into my groove in terms of genre, style of music and vocal tone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott, a native of Wilton, never dreamed he would appear on \u201cThe Voice,\u201d or on any TV show.<\/p>\n

As a teacher, husband and father of three, he wasn\u2019t exactly flush with time to devote to his craft. He was content just to write an occasional song with his band, One Way North, and to rock out on weekends and at regional festivals.<\/p>\n

But everywhere he went, Scott heard varying versions of the same comment: \u201cYou\u2019re not just good \u2014 you\u2019re special. You should be on \u2018The Voice.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Reluctant, but curious, Scott began watching the show last fall. It wasn\u2019t until a final nudge from his principal \u2014 \u201cWhat are you doing teaching? You should be a singer.\u201d \u2014 that he decided to apply.<\/p>\n

In January, Scott went to Nashville for preliminary auditions. Of the many thousands who apply, only a tiny fraction get to audition in front of the show\u2019s panel: Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson and John Legend. Scott was among the chosen few.<\/p>\n

The blind audition would be the biggest performance and brightest spotlight of his life.<\/p>\n

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\"Photo
Scott, a special education teacher in the Tomah Area School District, says his students frequently begged him for spoilers. \u201cThey kept asking: \u2018Can you tell us what happened? Can you tell us what happened?\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I had to keep saying: \u2018No, I\u2019m not allowed to tell you anything.\u2019\u201d<\/figcaption><\/figure>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\u201cIt was a whirlwind, an absolute whirlwind,\u201d says Scott, who decided to sing \u201cHemorrhage (In My Hands)\u201d by Fuel \u2014 a grunge rock song released in 2000. \u201cManaging your emotions and nerves \u2026 I still don\u2019t know how I was able to do it. And because of COVID, we were only able to meet with our vocal coaches virtually. So when it came time for the blind audition, I couldn\u2019t see them in person or get any pointers or positive vibes. I was on my own.\u201d<\/p>\n

That loneliness didn\u2019t last long.<\/p>\n

Scott knew his wife, Lorraine, and children were supporting him from a distance, watching a live feed of the audition back home.<\/p>\n

Then,\u00a0about 15 seconds into Scott\u2019s performance<\/a>, as the song built to its first crescendo, Legend slapped the red button that turns his chair to face the stage \u2014 a trademark of the show. Legend wanted Scott on his team.<\/p>\n

Shelton followed by pressing his button, and after powering through the rest of the song, Scott was faced with a choice.<\/p>\n

Ultimately, he opted to join the country legend Shelton over the pop pianist Legend. But it wasn\u2019t Scott\u2019s singing that left the deepest impression with his students in Tomah.<\/p>\n

The day after the episode aired, all his students could talk about was how Scott had winked at Clarkson after she complimented his song choice.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey thought that was so cool,\u201d he says. \u201cThey couldn\u2019t believe I winked at her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Through the fall, Scott\u2019s students begged him for spoilers. Subsequent episodes of \u201cThe Voice\u201d had been filmed at the end of the summer, so Scott was teaching at the same time he was an active contestant on the show.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey kept asking: \u2018Can you tell us what happened? Can you tell us what happened?\u2019\u201d he says. \u201cAnd I had to keep saying: \u2018No, I\u2019m not allowed to tell you anything.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Scott\u2019s time on \u201cThe Voice\u201d ended in an episode that aired Nov. 16.\u00a0He was knocked off in the Battle round<\/a>\u00a0after he and his teammate performed \u201cHave You Ever Seen the Rain?\u201d by Creedence Clearwater Revival.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\"Photo
Scott rehearses in the studio with teammate and fellow contestant Ian Flanigan. The pair performed Creedence Clearwater Revival’s “Have You Ever Seen the Rain?” during the show’s Battle round.<\/figcaption><\/figure>
<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

That exit did nothing to diminish what Scott described as a once-in-a-lifetime experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cI heard from so many people in Tomah and the Coulee Region \u2014 even from people I don\u2019t know \u2014 that they were happy something good finally happened in 2020,\u201d he explains. \u201cJust to hear that positive feedback from the community \u2026 that would have been more than enough to convince me it was worth it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe second thing was the validation. Part of me doubted if I would even have a chance, if they\u2019d even think I was good. But now I don\u2019t have to look back and wonder, because I did it. And there are thousands and thousands of people who tried and didn\u2019t make it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting voted off \u201cThe Voice\u201d might seem like an ending. But to Scott, it\u2019s a beginning \u2014 a chance to more urgently pursue his aspirations in music.<\/p>\n

When COVID subsides, Scott plans to continue playing festivals around the Coulee Region and across the Midwest.<\/p>\n

He plans to write new music with his fellow bandmates, and launch a solo endeavor featuring more of an acoustic sound and intimate feel.<\/p>\n

And he plans to return to where it all started, UW-La Crosse, whether it\u2019s for a concert or to speak to students about his experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat school has so many memories and so many ties to where I am today,\u201d he says. \u201cIn some ways, my life started at UWL, from humble beginnings in Coate Hall.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

For Aaron Scott, the road to stardom began in a dorm room. In 2005-06, Scott was a junior at UW-La Crosse \u2014 spending his days studying art education, wishing he was on the football team and experimenting with his friend\u2019s recording software. It was the last of these pastimes that led to Scott\u2019s recent and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":5678,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","institution":[104],"story_category":[],"class_list":["post-5675","campus_story","type-campus_story","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","institution-uw-la-crosse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story\/5675","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/campus_story"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/campus_story"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5675"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5675"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"institution","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/institution?post=5675"},{"taxonomy":"story_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.wisconsin.edu\/all-in-wisconsin\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/story_category?post=5675"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}