Sorellé talks about process of trying out for 'The Voice'

LEXINGTON — The Heichel sisters didn't remember much about their blind audition for "The Voice."

Better known as Sorellé, which is the Italian word for sisters, Madi, Ana and Bella made it through the first round of NBC's popular singing competition in Monday's season premiere.

Chance the Rapper will be their coach going forward.

Sorellé chose the Queen song "Good Old-Fashioned Lover Boy" for their audition.

"I wasn't nervous until the show started," Madi said. "We didn't remember a thing that happened."

Ana added, "It felt like such a blur."

Bella, the youngest of the group at age 15, struggled throughout the process.

"So nervous ... so nervous," she said. "I thought I was going to be sick before and even more after."

Sorellé started as a duo when Madi, now 21, and Ana, now 20, were 6 and 5, respectively. Madi and Ana are Lexington graduates, while Bella is a freshman who attends online.

The sisters became social media darlings when they filmed a cover of "All About That Bass," a hit song by Meghan Trainor. With Trainor's "like" and repost, Sorellé went viral.

The social media influencers have 3.2 million viewers on TikTok, a video-sharing social networking service.

After posting the audition for "The Voice" on their social media page, Sorellé gained 1.4 million views, 267,000 likes, 10,000 shares and 1,000 comments — in the first day.

Sorellé answers comments, questions from fans

"We respond to every comment," Madi said. "We would not be where we are if they weren't watching."

Sorellé sat down for an interview and photo shoot with the News Journal in their hilltop home, just south of Lexington. All wore black and white, the same motif they used in their audition, which was prerecorded several months ago.

"Our mom has an eye for fashion," Madi said of Candace Heichel.

Many of Sorellé's fans on TikTok suggested they try out for "The Voice" or similar shows.

"We grew up watching 'The Voice.' It was one of our favorite shows," Madi said.

The girls all look up to former judge Christina Aguilera, a vocal powerhouse.

"We felt like it was time," Madi said of trying out.

Sorellé flew to California and auditioned at Universal Studios.

Many people might have been surprised by their song choice, a Queen track released in 1976.

"We grew up on Queen," Madi said. "Our dad introduced us to a lot of different music."

The sisters particularly gravitate to Queen's layered vocals.

"We've always loved Queen," Bella said. "That was one of the groups that we would listen to all the time."

Sisters' dad introduced them to different genres

The Heichels credit their father David, a financial planner, with introducing them to everyone from Billy Joel to Guns N' Roses.

"In college, he went all over to bars and events," Ana said of their musician dad. "That's how he made his money."

In addition to Chance the Rapper, country singer Blake Shelton wanted to coach Sorellé. He is leaving "The Voice" at the end of this season, his 23rd.

"He's an amazing artist," Madi said.

Bella added they were honored that Shelton wanted the sisters for the final Team Blake.

After huddling together, the Heichels chose Chance the Rapper to be their coach.

He put the sisters on the spot by asking them to vocalize "What Would I Do If I Could Feel" from "The Wiz."

"Chance challenged us to try singing something that we didn't know. We love a good challenge," Ana said. "We can grow with him."

Sorellé was the first act chosen by Chance the Rapper, who is in his first season on "The Voice."

Sorellé was honored just to be chosen for the audition process. Producers from "The Voice" received an estimated 40,000 submissions from artists who wanted to participate this season.

The Heichels hosted a watch party to celebrate the season premiere of "The Voice."

"Everybody was jumping up and down, screaming," Madi said.

Heichel sisters want people to know more about them

Sorellé wants people to know more about them. Bella said many people don't realize that they are sisters.

"We feel that we can perform and put on a show," the 15-year-old said. "We want to sell out stadiums someday and have us be the music that people put on in their car."

Ana added, "We are professionally trained singers. When it comes to singing, we know what we're doing. We've done this for over half of our lives."

The Heichels have released seven singles online and write their own songs. Producer Khris Lorenz is a frequent collaborator.

"Thankfully, Zoom is a thing," Madi said.

Sorellé has a full home studio and sound system. Their dad acts as the group's engineer.

The Heichels drive themselves hard.

"Music is definitely my first priority," Bella said, describing her sisters as her only friends.

Madi added, "This is what we want to do with our lives. You do have to make sacrifices. This career is very hard."

They realize they are reaching a whole new audience with "The Voice."

"We're soaking it all in. It's surreal," Madi said.

How 'The Voice' season will unfold

Sorellé can't talk about what's to come on the show, which has been prerecorded. But the girls won't be featured the next couple of weeks, during which more blind auditions will be held.

Per a press email, the battle rounds are scheduled to begin on March 27. Two artists from each team will duet on a song. Their coach must choose one artist from each duet to move forward.

The exception is the new playoff pass. According to NBC Insider, each coach has one playoff pass to give to an artist, allowing the artist to skip the knockout rounds and go straight to the playoffs.

When the playoff pass is used, both artists in the battle advance. Each coach also has one steal to take an artist up for elimination from another team.

The knockouts begin April 17. In this round, two artists from each team perform solo acts. Their coach then chooses one to move forward. Again, the coaches have one steal.

The playoffs start on May 1.

"The 20 remaining artists hold nothing back, and tough decisions are made when each coach can only advance two artists to the live semifinals," NBC Insider noted.

On May 15, the live performance shows get underway.

Each week, the remaining artists will perform live for audience votes. The artists with the fewest votes will be eliminated.

"The Voice" will conclude May 23 with the winner being revealed.

No matter what happens, Sorellé already has reached its biggest audience yet.

"It will go down as one of the top 5 best moments of our lives," Madi said.

mcaudill@gannett.com

419-521-7219

Twitter: @MNJCaudill

This article originally appeared on Mansfield News Journal: Lexington sisters talk about experience on 'The Voice'