For her fans in St. Louis, it was a tragedy that Kennedy Holmes did not win "The Voice" last week. But for the 14-year-old singer, she said she feels like she still won big.
After all, Holmes got to learn from the best, including Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson, who was her coach for the nationally televised singing competition.
"Working with Jennifer was an easier connection because she's been through this whole process," Holmes told St. Louis Public Radio. "She started in competition and she didn't even win. I feel like that's something that we have in common that shows that even if you don't win a voice compeition that you're doing you can still come out and do big things like she did."
The teenager was already a veteran performer before trying out for the show. She came up through training programs for kids and teens at The Muny in St. Louis.
Holmes told St. Louis on the Air Host Don Marsh in Octoberthat she developed a love for performing in the third grade.
“I sang 'I Am Changing,' by Jennifer Hudson. And I knew like the feeling I felt on stage — everyone's cheering me on — I knew at that moment, you know, I had a passion for singing.”
She added that getting to know Hudson, a Grammy-and-Oscar-winning actress and singer, was one of the highlights of being on the show.
“I met Jennifer Hudson. I hugged Jennifer Hudson. She said I was a gem. OK, Kennedy, this actually happened.”
Although Holmes said her favorite performance of the competition was singing "Confidence," the John Burroughs Middle School student said singing a duet on national television with her idol on the final night of the show was an amazing experience as well.
Follow Wayne Pratt on Twitter: @WayneRadio
Follow Marissanne Lewis Thompson on Twitter: @Marissanne2011
