Connecticut native competes on ‘The Voice’

A woman who grew up in Middlebury is competing on the current season of the NBC-TV reality show “The Voice.”

Country singer Taryn Papa, 30, is on “Team Blake” on the long-running music competition program, which is hosted by music superstars Gwen Stefani, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Blake Shelton. The show’s Season 19 began on Oct. 19.

For her blind audition, Papa sang Martina McBride’s 2006 song “Anyway.” To see that performance, visit youtube.com/watch?v=MZ_TOOCyttk.

Papa attended the University of Saint Joseph in West Hartford, graduating in 2011, then moved to Nashville. According to her website, tarypapa.com, she performs more than 300 shows a year there.

According to NBC’s website for the show, “Her grandfather inspired her to learn piano when she was 7 years old. She started singing in church and at school, and later joined a cover band with her uncle while she was in college. At 23, she packed her bags and moved to Nashville to focus on her music career. Her grandfather sadly passed away when she was 25, but his memory lives on through her music. Taryn is now in one of the few female-fronted bands on [Nashville’s] Broadway and was named Artist of the Month in March of this year at Blake Shelton’s Ole Red in Nashville.”

This isn’t the first time a native of Middlebury has competed on a TV singing show. Katie Stevens finished eighth place in the ninth season (2010) of “American Idol.”

“The Voice” usually can be seen on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC. The Tuesday show will not be broadcast next week because of the election.

Susan Dunne can be reached at sdunne@courant.com.

———

©2020 The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.)

Visit The Hartford Courant (Hartford, Conn.) at www.courant.com

Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.