Brandon Showell is a contestant on The Voice's thirteenth season this fall on NBC.

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Brandon, a 26-year-old seventh-grade English teacher and former cruise ship singer from Virginia Beach, VA, performed "There's Nothing Holdin' Me Back" for his Blind Audition, and Adam Levine, Jennifer Hudson and Miley Cyrus all turned around.

Jennifer used to perform on cruise ships as well, so she could relate to Brandon. Adam's argument was that he had turned his chair around "noticeably faster" than the other two coaches because in that moment, it mattered how he felt -- not what the other coaches thought of the performance. Adam said he wanted to give Brandon the recognition he deserved.

After Brandon explained that his students are unaware of the fact he sings, Miley suggested his artistry should be one and the same with who he is as a person, that he shouldn't live two separate lives. But in the end, Brandon chose "Team Adam," believing the Maroon 5 frontman could help him with "stage presence and confidence."

After his audition aired, Brandon talked to Reality TV World about choosing Adam as his coach. Below is what he had to say.

Reality TV World: Walking into your The Voice audition, which coach did you predict you'd choose if all of them did turn around for you, and what ended up factoring into your final decision?

Brandon Showell: Okay, so when I walked into my audition, I knew that I would consider Adam or Jennifer if they turned. And then both of them turned, as well as Miley, which made things a lot more difficult.

So I was thinking of Jennifer And Adam, and since both of them turned around and then Miley put up a really good fight, I had to listen closely to each one of the coaches. And one thing that Adam said to me was that he can really work with me and he pretty much understands my artistry.

I mean, of course everything that he said isn't necessarily shown, but another thing that kind of hit at home with me that he said was that he understands artists that come from where I come from and, you know, I'm from Virginia Beach.

So he listed artists such as [Pharrell Williams], and that's where I come from. That's really good music and it's music that's going to last forever, and that's what I want to make.

So when Adam made the statement such as that, I had to choose him over Jennifer, even though it was a hard decision because Jennifer And I definitely have similar backgrounds. But when I had the opportunity to have the coach be Adam, you know, with his experience and his understanding of what I want to do as an artist, I decided to go with him. I think it was a great choice.

Also during the conference call, Brandon talked to reporters about his career before The Voice and what finally led him to audition for the show.

During your introductory package, you talked about yourself being an English teacher by day and a musician by night. Could you elaborate on what you were doing musically before The Voice, whether you've been performing solo or in a band, etc?

Brandon Showell: Absolutely. So before The Voice, I studied Music and English at George Mason University in Fairfax. I used to be in a boy band named For Sure and there were four vocalists in the group who made it on to The X Factor.

And soon after the show ended, I left the group and became a solo artist, in which I went to perform for a cruise line. And then after the cruise line, I started teaching and I'm now in an agency band and we do corporate events and weddings. So that's what I'm currently doing, as well as being my own artist.

What led you to The Voice this year, especially since you also got married this year?

Brandon Showell: Yes. So I figured, you know, when it's time to dive, it's time to dive all the way in, and that's what I was doing with my personal life, with my now-wife, as well as my career. I felt like this was the year to do it. And, you know, I trained a lot for the past year and a half vocally, and this was the year that I felt like I was ready to do it. So it definitely paid off.

What's it like performing on cruise ships? What is the schedule and is it a year-round gig?

Brandon Showell: Oh, wow. So, you know, when Jennifer said last night that, you know, that was kind of her test as far as being an artist, that's completely accurate. It is nonstop. It is very long days. You always should have a smile on because even when you're going up to get some pizza around the guests, you're working.

So it's 24 hours and when you're on the stage, that's just a portion of the process of being a crucial performer. I love the traveling aspect, but the hardest part about being a crucial performer was two things for me: One, I can't swim.

So every day was Fear Factor for me because I sometimes would even sleep with my life jacket in my little bunk because I did not want to have a Titanic Part II.

And then secondly, was just being away from my family. I've been with my now wife for seven years and the distance never gets easy. I'm very family oriented, so being away for eight months out to sea and being able to only see my family when they come to visit the cruise, that's extremely difficult.

But Royal Caribbean was great to me, and it's a job and an opportunity that I will always remember, because I grew as a performer and I met so many different people from all over the world. You know, the ship that I was on, actually we had about 1,000 employees, and only 24 of us were from the U.S.

So that kind of puts into perspective that I was able to see the world in one location and meet so many different people and experience so many different cultures. So I'll never forget it and I appreciate every minute of it.

To read more interviews with The Voice's Season 13 contestants, click here for Reality TV World's show page.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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