On the ninth season of NBC's singing competition The Voice, Shelby Brown was the resident country star. A native of Elberta, Alabama, Brown earned her slot on the show when she was 16, and she immediately impressed the judges with her bold, brassy vocals. She wound up on Adam Levine's team and although she was eliminated during the show's semi-finals, The Voice provided a pivotal launching pad for a musical career. Like many aspiring stars, Brown started performing as an amateur, singing karaoke at local bowling alleys at the age of 11. She'd continue to sing karaoke as a teen, but she also took vocal lessons and sang in choir. After graduating from Baldwin County Virtual School, she wound up auditioning for The Voice, and was cast for the fall of 2015. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine