Interview by Denise Salcedo, Red Carpet Report Entertainment Reporter follow her on Twitter @_DeniseSalcedo
Less than 100 votes made the difference between whether Paxton Ingram of Team Blake or Nick Hagelin of Team Christina would continue on The Voice, this past Tuesday night.
The young contestants had the lowest amount of votes for the week but one of the closest instant save percentages of all-time during any season of the show.
While, the instant saves were being tracked in real-time during the commercial break, both Nick and Paxton were at an even fifty percent. It wasn’t until the final moments of the Live Eliminations that Paxton was announced as the winner. Sending the family man, Nick Hagelin, 28, home after making it all the way to the top nine.
Nick’s journey on The Voice was a memorable one, he was favored by America during the competition for not only his vocal abilities, dance moves and good looks but for being a down-to-earth guy who shined the brightest when his wife and son were beside him.
Q&A With Nick Hagelin
Now that you’ve gotten all of this exposure from The Voice, what is your game plan musically going forward?
Nick Hagelin: Well I’ve been a singer/songwriter sine I was 12 years old. I started writing and recording music. So just really excited about getting my new original music out there and continuing to promote it with touring and music videos. I’ve got all this pent up creative energy and I’m just ready to get in the studio and get out on the road.
You have released music before, How do you think the new music will compare to what you’ve already released?
Nick Hagelin: It’ll just be better and better and better. Man, my voice has grown so much, so much wonderful experience. It’s an emotional experience and really tapped into a new, authentic place in my relationship with myself and my music. And I’m excited about expressing that with some new EPs and hopefully an album soon.
You got a chance to experiment with different song types and styles and everything else. How will that impact your current project?
Nick Hagelin: Yes. My lane I would say is soulful pop music. I’m a big R&B fan. My original music will probably have a little bit more of that R&B flavor than what I had gotten a chance to do on the show.
When you went up against Paxton for the instant save, what did you think your chances were of staying or remaining in the competition?
Nick Hagelin: Last week before I sang Ed Sheeran I had this real sort of peace and calmness come over me and I was just praying to find that same place last night. And it was actually Paxton’s performance, which was so amazing and so moving that put me in that peaceful state. Just watching him, I was completely absorbed by him and he’s such a close friend of mine now.
And I was really just thrilled to be there, thrilled to have another opportunity to sing. And as far as like my chances, I don’t know. I wasn’t too attached to it because, you know, historically America rarely saves the same person two weeks in a row. But I also knew that I’ve acquired this wonderful support and fan base. So I was just kind of excited to hear what Carson would say. I’m such a huge fan and friend of Paxton. I was squeezing him tight and just really happy for whatever name was called. And then they said Paxton, you know, I was just so happy for him. He so deserves to be in that top eight.
We’ve all sort of won already in our own ways. I didn’t really give too much thought going into it about who was going to come out and still remaining in the competition.
You were both on team Pharrell and Christina during the competition, How did they differ as coaches for you? And do you think one was maybe a better fit based on your style, way of learning, strengths, weaknesses, stuff like that?
Nick Hagelin: Yes. You know, it’s interesting because they really did have very different coaching styles and that became apparent to me as soon as I started working with Christina.
Christina’s approach is like very pragmatic. As such an incredible vocalist, Christina has the ability to give you melodies, give you these ad libs, tell you what to sing, when not to sing.
Pharrell is so communicative with all of the contestants, especially if you move further along in the competition. So he continued to bless me with his little Pharrellisms and nuggets of wisdom and pretty much had a nice, you know, thing or summary to deliver to me in a private moment backstage or on the lot. Pretty much after every performance I would run into him at some point, you know, during the week and he would still, you know, impart upon me his wisdom. So I sort of had really the best of both worlds moving through the competition.
How did you feel when you were called back by Christina? Did your approach to the show change when you were given a second chance?
Nick Hagelin: Absolutely. To be eliminated during knockouts was kind of a blow for me emotionally after having invested so much time during blinds. And it’s a really intense period of time preparing for the battles and the knockouts and so I was pretty bummed when I went home.
So when I came back, I was doubly focused and I think the big shift for me was I no longer felt like I was competing. And I felt like this is a second chance to just showcase myself as an artist and a singer.
Is there anything you would change or do you have any regrets about your journey on The Voice?
Nick Hagelin: No. Just this morning I sort of was torn between two instant save songs last night. I was considering singing Midnight Train to Georgia by Gladys Knight, which lyrically was like so appropriate for what I was going through. It’s about a man coming to LA and then going back home to Georgia, which I’ll be doing later today. And Change the World is one of my favorite songs of all time.
But no, I have no regrets. But that’s the only thing I’m thinking about today, like man I wonder if I would’ve been more like emotionally invested in the lyrics of that Gladys Knight song last night. But, you know, I can always sing that at another show another time.
How is your son doing and how has he inspired you throughout this journey?
Nick Hagelin: Bash is doing great. I don’t know if you guys saw on The Voice or on my page but he ran into Christina Aguilera backstage last night and he popped his little leg up, which he broke a few weeks ago, and he says, “Will you sign my cast?” And she was sweet enough to sign that. And it was this really nice sort of parting moment and the fact that The Voice reposted that picture was really sweet.
And the coolest thing — and I still mean this even after making it so much farther — about this was as far back as blinds when Bash walked out on that stage, the outreach from all these families with various special needs, special needs family members, special needs children were so inspired by him coming out on prime time TV, walking up on that stage after doctors said that he might never walk. Here he is at five years old taking a bow and Pharrell encouraging everyone to stand up.
And so he was just further motivation for me to continue to share his story and everything our family’s been through in hopes of bringing inspiration to families because that’s, you know, was such a prayer of mine when he was born. I was like I just wish there was more hope out there for this condition, you know, more success stories to latch onto. And I feel like Bash has really provided that. So he’s, you know, really accomplished more than anyone ever thought of him, so I always want to make him proud and show him what daddy can do as well.
Are you personally rooting for anyone to win?
Nick Hagelin: You know, the talk backstage among contestants at least is never about who’s going to win — especially this far in the competition.
I’m a huge fan of Ali’s and I think she’s brought an incredible energy to this competition and really set quite a bar. Adam’s one of my just absolute favorites on the show for so many reasons — as a person, as a musician. I think he’s one of the most well-rounded and deserving contestants on the show.
And then I feel like Bryan Bautista is in this huge upswing right now. I think his Beyoncé performance was like a huge climax — well, I don’t want to say climax, but just a huge moment for him.
I think the competitive nature of it sort of fizzled out after live playoffs. When you lose half the people that you’re there with, it was really so emotionally jarring that, you know, it’s hard to get attached to any outcomes after that. So ever since the top 12, I think we all are just kind of rooting for each other and seeing what happens.
Lastly, where can fans find all your new content?
Nick Hagelin: Sound Cloud slash Nick Hagelin and YouTube slash Nick Hagelin. That’s where all the new content will be put up. Thank you, guys.
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ABOUT THE VOICE
The Voice 2016 USA YouTube channel features exclusive content with The Voice coaches, highlights from The Voice auditions, interviews with The Voice winners, as well as The Voice recaps and results. Learn more about The Voice contestants, The Voice tour, the eliminations, and follow your favorite performers all the way to the finale. In season 10, internationally acclaimed artist Christina Aguilera returns to join megastars Pharrell Williams, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton as celebrity musician coaches, while Carson Daly continues to serve as host. The show’s innovative format features five stages of competition: the first begins with the blind auditions, followed by the battle rounds, the knockouts, the live playoffs and finally, the live performance shows.
