Durham singer trying not to be 'one-set artist' in 'Voice' competition

Calvin Lockett is on top of the world, living out his dream as a contestant on NBC's "The Voice" singing competition.

Posted 1:24 a.m. Oct 15, 2019 — Updated 2:48 a.m. Oct 15, 2019

Mark Boyle

, WRAL anchor/reporter

DURHAM, N.C. — Calvin Lockett is on top of the world, living out his dream as a contestant on NBC’s "The Voice" singing competition.

The 25-year-old Durham resident is one of 48 people on "The Voice" hoping to move through to the finals.

Being on the stage, it was, it was a magical moment," Lockett said.

He said his journey started years ago when he was singing in his parent’s church in Nashville, Tenn. Someone who heard him encouraged him to try out for the show.

"Honestly, I did my first, like, I guess, first show outside of a church setting two years ago – two Septembers ago," he said. "One of the guys who works in casting for the show saw me there and reached out to me and told me about auditions coming up and kept saying, 'Really, I think you should audition. I think you should audition.'"

Lockett said he wasn’t ready at that time.

After moving to Durham, he moved in with his best friend and decided the time was right.

"Of course, people think it’s crazy," he said. "People thought I was crazy for wanting to pursue music and leaving Music City, but I just really felt like I wasn’t supposed to be in Nashville anymore."

His gamble has paid off so far. His powerful performance of the Temptations' classic "Just My Imagination" during auditions two weeks ago got the attention of three of the four "The Voice" judges, securing his spot on the show. He is now on Gwen Stefani's team.

"It was probably the last thing she said to me," he said of hs decision to choose Stefani as his coach. "She was like, 'You don’t have to be a one-set artist. You don’t have to have a one-set avenue,' and that’s kind of like my artist mantra – I don’t want to be a one-set thing."

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