‘The Voice’ Casting Launches Open Mic Night in LA
Jo Weissberger, Cool Cities Reading Time: 3 minutes
The Voice Casting Department recently announced an open mic night at Hotel Cafe in Los Angeles! It will take place on the second Monday of each month. While this open mic is not considered an audition, it is an opportunity for talented singers to come together and perform. Plus, each one will be hosted by a former contestant from The Voice, who will also perform! And there’s no doubt that some members of The Voice Casting Department will be there! Here’s the official announcement:
The Voice Casting Instagram account has been bulking up its involvement in the audition process these past few years. After all, they need 48 singers to make it on teams each season! Especially considering The Voice has two seasons each year, this is quite a hefty task. So in order to fill the spots, they have gotten more creative in their casting and made it easier than ever to be heard!
The Open Call Auditions are still a great way to see a number of people all in one day, but even Jordan Smith had to audition multiple times before moving on and, of course, eventually winning The Voice. They’re also limited by the amount of locations they can do these auditions in. Usually there are four or five each season, but if you don’t live close to any of them, it can be difficult to make it there. And as you can see from the photo below, the Open Calls can be a little daunting.
While the Casting Department has always accepted video submissions and reached out to singers with followings online (like Christina Grimmie, Ricky Manning, and Dave Crosby, to name a few), these new opportunities are opening up chances for people who may not have the backing of these YouTube and Vine stars. Honestly, it seems like a win-win to me! These lesser-known singers need a way in to the process and the producers need people to fill the spots on each team. Viewers like hearing the stories of average, everyday people making it big on these competition shows too. So any way to make this easier for people is opening up the talent pool more and more!
On the other hand, this partnership is an all-around good thing for all parties involved. The Hotel Cafe in LA has a long relationship with past contestants on The Voice. Just a few weeks ago, Alisan Porter and Johnny Gates performed a show with American Idol‘s Anthony Federov! The Hotel Cafe isn’t exactly pay-to-play, but performers are expected to sell a certain amount of tickets and bring in a number of people to watch. Because of that, it’s a perfect place for up-and-coming singers to get on stage!
In addition to the open mic night, The Voice Casting has also started doing #TheVoiceCastingKnockouts in each audition city. This gives eight singers the opportunity to go head-to-head and sing for a Callback! All eight singers submit videos that are voted on by The Voice Casting followers. Four are selected from the match-ups posted on their Instagram Story. Then, those four compete in person at the auditions for a Red Card. The Red Card is your ticket to the Callbacks!
All that being said, it is easier than ever to get your voice heard. If you want to be on the show, there are plenty of opportunities to audition! And even though the open mic night at Hotel Cafe is NOT an audition, the people who matter will definitely be listening. If you’re interested in performing at it, submissions for the first open mic night on August 14th are due today! Eight singers will be chosen to perform 2-3 songs each on the Main Stage.
