Hometown Fans Of LI Teen On 'The Voice' Wear 'Team Carter' Shirts

SHOREHAM, NY — Carter Rubin, a 14-year-old from Shoreham who advanced to the next round on "The Voice" last week and will compete again Monday night, has a legion of fans — none more spirited than the cheering supporters in his hometown.

According to Colette Grosso, fellow students and families are purchasing "Team Carter" T-shirts and hoodies, with profits benefitting young performing artists in Carter's Shoreham-Wading River Central School District.

"The great idea for 'Team Carter Spirit Wear' was actually suggested to me by Adrien Gilmore, one of our middle school teachers," Grosso said. "She reached out to me because I’m vice president of our booster club for the fine and performing arts, Wildcats Helping the Arts & Music, or WHAM."

Gilmore told her teachers and staff were brainstorming ways to design something to wear to both support Carter and as a fundraiser for WHAM.

Carter is a sophomore at Shoreham-Wading River High School.

"The entire community has Carter Rubin fever so I agreed it sounded like a fantastic idea, provided we could get approval from Carter’s family and a vendor that could handle the task," Grosso said. "Carter’s mom Alonna answered me within an hour. She loved the idea!"

Grosso reached out to C&S Apparel, a local vendor other school PTAs used this year, because she purchased their products for other fundraisers.

"They have done beautiful work with (local school) creative designs. In speaking with them, they loved the idea as well. They are also huge fans of Carter."

The shirts are designed in Shoreham-Wading River colors, Grosso said. "The feedback on the design has been very well-received," she said.

To order a shirt, click here. People can pay to have shirts shipped to their homes.

The concept is a win-win, Grosso said. "In COVID conditions the majority of our traditional fundraisers won’t happen this year. We raise money for senior scholarships, teacher grants, to improve the fine and performing arts, bring new programs to our schools and so much more. We are still relatively new organization, in only our third year.

"We are so grateful to have the support of Carter’s family. Carter is an amazingly talented young man from an even more amazing family. We are honored to be able to show our pride for his outstanding success so far and hopefully he wins the whole thing. We know he can."

Last week, Carter won the knockout round and will move on to the live performances Monday night.

Carter saw his first success on the show during the blind audition in the second week of Season 19 of "The Voice," which airs on Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.

The show is hosted by Carson Daly, with coaches including Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson. After his blind audition, Carter chose Stefani's team.

Carter said he was inspired by his grandfather, a guitarist and backup singer for Jay and the Americans.

Speaking with Patch, Carter said he's been interested in music for as long as he can remember but around 7 years old, he began taking it more seriously. His first live performance was on the boardwalk at Long Beach, where he sang the National Anthem after the destruction of Hurricane Sandy.

"It just kind of escalated from there and now I'm here, so I must have done something right," Carter said.

Carter, who has never taken formal vocal lessons, feels as though he got the singing gene from his grandfather, who has been his vocal coach for years. "That's something special we share together. I don't think a lot of grandpas and grandsons can say that. It's super cool."

Carter also loves singing and playing music with his older brother, Jack, 19, who was diagnosed with autism at 2. They perform together at their family's autism foundation, Families in Arms, which helps bring kids with autism — whose families may not otherwise be able to afford the trip — to Disney World in Florida. Jack, Carter said, plays drums and loves Disney songs.

"It's really important for me to see the world through his eyes," Carter said. "He does see the world a little differently. And that's not a bad thing at all. It's quite beautiful. We have the best bond."

In fact, Carter said he chose his audition song and dedicated it to his brother: "It has a different meaning for everyone. For me it's about not missing the chance to be there for someone — that someone being my brother. I want to be there for him, help him. You have to let the walls come down and allow others to help you."

His family, including his mother Alonna, father David and brother Jack, are the "most supportive people I could ever ask to have in my corner," he said. "They've been encouraging me to follow my dream ever since I was born. I would not be able to do this without their support and encouragement."

A self-professed "theater nerd," Carter has taken in part in school productions including "The Wiz," "Mamma Mia," and "Pippin."

He's been wanting to perform on "The Voice" for years, he said. "That's my dream, to get my name out there. I want to sing because I love music but I also want to touch people with my voice. I want to heal people and make them happy."

Carter auditioned for the show in Boston and advanced to the blind audition.

"It was such an incredible experience to be so lucky to have gotten to that point," he said. "It's really hard, because you are all alone out there. It's just you, performing to the back of four chairs. And you're hoping and praying."

Friends in Shoreham have been cheering along. "They are super excited," he said.

The community even came together with a car parade on the night his blind audition aired on October 26. The parade, organized by Caryn Albert, was "awesome," Carter said. "There were kids from my school district, with signs, cheering. It was so cool."

Carter was friends with Boy Scout Andrew McMorris, who was killed by a drunk driver while out on a hike two years ago.

His family is good friends with the McMorris family. When Alisa McMorris, Andrew's mom, heard about Carter being chosen for "The Voice," she said her son would have been excited to hear the news. Andrew, too, loved to perform.

"She stopped by and gave me a keychain with Andrew's fingerprint on it, to put in my pocket when I go onstage for future performances — so he's always with me," he said. "I thought that was really nice of her."

Carter, Alisa McMorris said, "is the real deal — the beauty of his voice shines right on through to his true and honest heart. I was blessed to be introduced to this incredible family through our work together at the SWR PTA and again when Andrew developed a friendship with Carter."

The boys performed together a number of times, McMorris said. "They made a promise to both audition for either 'American Idol' or 'The Voice' together. I know Andrew is there with him — cheering his friend on as they promised to do for each other, no matter what the outcome. And I don't think it was a coincidence that one of the judge's comments was, 'You must be flying inside.' No matter what happens, Carter is a winner already."

If he were to advise other young people with a dream, Carter said he would encourage them to take a chance. "Just go for it. You have to be comfortable taking a risk. I know it's hard when you are competing with older people but that doesn't mean you are any less talented. Go for it and follow your dream. Do exactly what I did. If you miss that chance you could miss out on great things in your future, things that you really want.

"You have to do what makes you happy and this makes me happy."

This article originally appeared on the Riverhead Patch