Aria Bleu Recalls Her Time on The Voice; Talks About New Single, “Theory of You!”

If you tuned-in to Season 14 of The Voice, you may recall a soulful voice from Delaware who wowed judges by the name of, Kelsea Johnson. Johnson selected Alicia Keys to guide her, but eventually Johnson was eliminated in the Live Playoffs after falling to the bottom 4 of her team. After a genius rebranding phase, Johnson, now goes by Aria Bleu and her covers and original music has showcased the powerful voice we fell in love with during her time on the show. Bleu is a charismatic ray of sunshine and her voice singles her out as one of the young top talents to lend your ear too. Her new single, “Theory of You,” shows off her range and creativity as an artist.

During a recent conversation, Aria talks about the experience gained on The Voice and learning from Alicia Keys, how being quarantined changed her approach to making music and much more!

Your voice is a ray of sunshine during these crazy times. How are you doing?

Aria Bleu: I’m doing good. Hanging in there. Trying to find fun things in the house to do.

Have you been using this as an opportunity to focus on and put more music out in the form of covers and original work?

Aria Bleu: Absolutely! I’ve been using this time to double-down on the amount of music that I can put out. I do have a regular 9-5 job, but not that I am home more, I can really just focus in and write more music, sing more, and not having those moments that are wasted. Whether I’m traveling or something like that. Really being locked in has helped me get the creative juices flowing more ironically.

You were a part of The Voice Season 14. You were using your real name Kelsea Johnson at the time. By the way, I love the switch to Aria Bleu. What was that experience like for you, and do you have any regrets about anything on the show including… and no disrespect to Alicia Keys, but including selecting her to work with because you did get 3-chairs turned?

Aria Bleu: The Voice was such an insane experience. I think I learned a lot about myself as an artist. That was my first time ever getting vocal training. Obviously, my first time getting vocal training from someone as big as Alicia Keys. It was an insane experience. It was so much fun. It really put the battery in my back and told me that I can really do this. I can be an artist and I can be a successful artist. I remember on my blind audition day, Kelly Clarkson said, “I know that you could drop a record right now and be a superstar.” Those little comments and those little things that where said, and the way that I was able to connect with the audience on the stage with all those people and having cameras everywhere… that entire experience really gave me the confidence to be the artist that I am today. Alicia Keys… I definitely do not regret the person that I chose. I feel like I learned a lot from her. Me growing up on her music and then having her listen to me sing, helping me and building up my confidence. That’s an experience that I would not trade or change anything about how it happened.

Was there more pressure during the show because it eliminates, looks, stage presence, audience command and things like that or do you prefer to have just your voice as the judge and jury?

Aria Bleu: Yes! It was very nerve-racking. But I chose to audition for this show opposed to any other show because of that reason. At the end of the day, there are people like, H.E.R. the singer that literally hid her identity because she only wanted people to listen to the music and that’s how I feel. I don’t want people to listen to me or my music or anything because of how I look or anything like that. I want you to genuinely like the music, genuinely like my voice. So, having that experience of them not seeing me. They can’t judge me by what I looked like, they can only judge my singing, and that in itself was a confidence booster. That was the validation that I needed. Just knowing that, wow, they are not basing anything off of looks, they are going straight forward and saying, just her voice is good enough to move on. That felt better than if they were saying, I like her look or her style. It was much better and more validating this way.

Who would have known that there was this soulful voice sitting right there in Delaware? Where did you come from (laughing)?

Aria Bleu: (Laughing) you know it’s funny. Delaware does have some talent. Don’t sleep on Delaware.

Okay, don’t sleep on Delaware. I like that.

Aria Bleu: My entire family on my mom’s side is musical. My mom sing, my aunt’s sing, my uncle’s sing, my cousins, and my grandfather was in a band. My entire family is musical, so I grew up in the music. Not necessarily on the music scene like doing gigs or shows or anything here in Delaware. But I had a couple of things here and there like doing the National Anthem before a basketball game or something small like that. Do a talent show at school… that kind of thing. But I wasn’t really involved in the music scene in Delaware or even in Philadelphia which is super close to where I’m at. But as I grew up, I started branching out. But Delaware has it’s little nooks and crannies, you know.

They definitely have a gem in Aria Bleu. Even your speaking voice says you can sing.

Aria Bleu: (Laughing). The raspiness. Thank you.

I have a love-hate relationship with social media. I actually discovered you on Twitter doing a Daniel Caesar featuring H.E.R. cover of, “Best Part.” You got a lot of attention over the weekend for that cover. How important is it for you to use social media in a beneficial way of moving your career forward?

Aria Bleu: I started using social media in high school… maybe even middle school. Just posting little videos on YouTube that I have sense taken down because they are a little embarrassing (laughing). But I started out putting up a couple of YouTube videos and stuff. And now, just using the platform that I gained from The Voice and kind of building on to that through social media in terms of getting people to share videos. I love doing covers. I did covers on the show. I really try to use social media as a marketing tool as best as I can. I’m not perfect, but I’m still learning the game. Social media, I feel like is one of those things that if used correctly, it can be one of the most powerful tools in the world. People go viral overnight. And that can change someone’s life and their career. So, I definitely try to sing on social media as much as I can, do cover videos, and get as much traction via social media. You know that drives people to my actual music. Even if I’m not singing my own songs, maybe just capture them with just my voice, and then get them into my music. Even the cover videos that I do post, I try and switch it up, change it up and make it my own. I don’t typically sing the song the way it was intended. I like to give it my own artistic flare. So, if somebody like that, then maybe you will like my own music. I definitely try to use it for that.

I think you fit the description of what is needed and necessary today as an artist and that is, you can fit into several genres. You’re not pigeonholed to just one genre. Was that your intent or just who you are as an artist?

Aria Bleu: Honestly… that’s a very good question. I don’t necessarily make music to fit into one genre. So, being genre-bending is totally fine for me. I don’t care if you call me a R&B artist, a neo-soul artist, pop artist. I mean, I don’t know who would call me that (laughing), but I don’t really care about genres necessarily. I just like making music that I like listening to. I have different types of genres that I like and that I get inspiration from. I take a little bit from here; I like a little bit from there and I put it into my music. I just really make music that I would want to listen to. So, if it fits into one genre, if it fits into the other, that’s fine with me. I definitely pull a lot of my inspiration from neo-soul artist. And actually, from R&B artist nowadays as well. I really don’t mind being either or, or whatever genre people put me in, but it’s definitely not my intent to make music to fit into a genre. I just kind of, make what I like.

Meghan Trainor’s, “Like I’m Going to Lose You,” was the song that got you into the door on The Voice. What was the process of song selection like for you?

Aria Bleu: I was probably one of the lucky ones. I feel like they gave me songs that fit me so well. The, “Don’t Let Go,” by En Vogue… first off, En Vogue don’t kill me, but I hadn’t heard that song before. So, when I heard it, I was like, “Oh my goodness, you guys matched this up perfectly.” I didn’t pick that song. They gave it to me. They matched it up so well it blew my mind. And then I couldn’t stop listening to the song of course because it’s a classic. But the songs that I got to choose like, Jazmine Sullivan’s. I did have a lot of say in the song. But I will say that they were very flexible in letting me choose what songs I wanted and getting clearance to the song. The Jazmine Sullivan song, “Need You Bad,” had never been sung on the show before, so they had to get clearance for that. And because it fit my voice, they were totally fine with it. I really appreciated that. I was glad that I got to showcase my soulful voice. And show the world that this is kind of where my inspiration is drawn from.

When I heard your voice on the video that was shared on Twitter, I blindly or should I say deafly purchased your new single, “Theory of You.” I didn’t even listen to the song. I went straight to iTunes and purchased it. Now, after hearing it, of course I love it. tell us how you came up with, “Theory of You.”

Aria Bleu: Wow! Thank you! So, that was during quarantine actually. My boyfriend actually made a beat. He just started dabbling in producing and making beats. He made a beat, and I was listening to it and I was like, “I kind of like this. I may have to steal this from you.” I ended up writing to the song. He also helped me co-write it. We were just trying to think of a fun song that was super relatable. I think the idea of being in love with the idea of someone is very common and a lot of people go through it. It’s like, this theory that I had of you, ended up being a lie. So, I thought that that was super relatable. It was so much fun to record. I actually recorded the vocals at home on my little microphone with a towel over my head trying to make sure the sound wasn’t getting out. Literally just doing it super-super homegrown. When I tell you that was the most fun from creation to release that I’ve had so far. Just because it felt so personal. It felt like mine. I really got to make this, me and my boyfriend in the same house doing this song. It was very organic, and it felt very honest. It was really fun. Now that I’ve done that, I feel like I never have to go to a studio again. I can just do it at home because I’m so comfortable. Unless it’s a really cool studio. I definitely feel like it changed the trajectory. Being locked up during quarantine literally changed the trajectory of how I’m going to take on music and go about making music going forward.

I cannot wait to hear more music from you, good luck and if you haven’t downloaded, “Theory of You,” you’re missing out. Is there anything else you would like to add?

Aria Bleu: Thank you! I have more music on the way, so look out for it. Go stream, “Theory of You!” Thank you so much (laughing).

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