PORTLAND, Maine — When contestants sing their first song on the TV show “The Voice,” the goal is simple: deliver a performance that will make at least one judge bring that performer onto his or her team.
Fail to impress any of the judges, and the contestant gets a one-way ticket back home.
When Delvin Choice appeared on “The Voice” nearly a decade ago, his debut couldn’t have gone better. He ran the table, prompting four out of four judges to spin around in their chairs. They all wanted him on their team.
“I was able to be on a platform that put me in front of millions,” Choice said. “I got to share my gift in front of the world.”
The competition on “The Voice” is intense, the outcome unpredictable, and the singers with the greatest talent are not necessarily the last ones standing. In the end, Choice did not win, leaving him with “some disappointments and some breaks” that he admits he did not handle well.
“Which then caused depression,” he said, “Which then led to a couple of years later me being in rehab.”
Last week, Choice came to Maine to work with students at St. Brigid School in Portland. Being around kids and talking with them about music and singing clearly delighted him.
“I see where they can go,” he said. “So I encourage them. Give them words of advice, of affirmation.”
Choice is now performing mostly in his native South Carolina, and given his charisma and killer voice, he may yet get another shot at breaking out in the music business. He seems happy and fulfilled, a man with few regrets.
“I’m only 33,” he pointed out. “God has not even [begun] the good works yet.”
Delvin Choice "A Song For You"
Delvin Choice "Crazy"