Kristen Merlin

Kristen Marie Merlin (born December 13, 1984) is an American country singer. She is best known for finishing in the top 5 on Season 6 of NBC's signing competition The Voice in 2014 as a part of Shakira's team.[1]

Kristen Merlin
Born	(1984-12-13) December 13, 1984 Hanson, Massachusetts, United States
Genres	Country, pop
Occupation(s)	Singer/Songwriter
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	2010-Present
Associated acts	Shakira Sugarland
Website	www.kristenmerlin.com

Career

2014: The Voice

At the blind auditions on February 24, 2014, Merlin performed Sugarland’s "Something More," persuading Adam Levine and Shakira to turn their chairs. Merlin chose Shakira and remained on her team the entire season.[2]

During the season’s first live episode, Merlin’s microphone went dead while she was singing Sugarland’s “Stay.” Merlin continued to sing until she was brought another microphone about 20 seconds later, allowing the audience to hear the final note of the song. She received overwhelming enthusiasm from the audience and the coaches.[3][4][5]

Adam Levine praised Merlin for her performance, saying, “You handled it so gracefully. It was as if nothing happened. Well done. I would have been in a puddle of my own nerves. I would have been crying. I would have had a thumb in my mouth. That was real inspiring to see you be cool – ice water in your veins.”[6]

During the semifinals, Merlin performed Miranda Lambert's "Gunpowder & Lead," and Jewel's "Foolish Games."[7] The latter made the top 10 on the iTunes top 100 singles chart. Merlin and Kat Perkins were eliminated, while Josh Kaufman, Jake Worthington and Christina Grimmie progressed to the finals.[8]

Merlin toured 31 U.S. cities on “The Voice Tour” in 2014.[9] Other performers included Season 6's Kaufman, Worthington, Grimmie and Jake Barker, Season 5's Tessanne Chin, Jacquie Lee and Will Champlin, Season 4's Holly Tucker and Season 1's Dia Frampton.

2015 - Present: Boomerang and Humans Being

On January 20, 2015, Merlin independently released her first EP, Boomerang, which reached #2 on Billboard's Heatseekers Northeast chart.[10] Boomerang was produced by Corey Britz, engineered by Paul Fig, and recorded at Southland Records in Los Angeles. The five-track EP features four songs written by Merlin, "A Little While," "Confusion," "For Now," and "Pocket Love Song." The title track, “Boomerang,” was co-written by Corey and Kara Britz.[11]

On February 8, 2019, Merlin released her second independently-released EP, Humans Being,[10] which reached #4 on Billboard's Heatseekers Northeast chart.[12] The first single from the EP, "Don’t Call It a Comeback" (written by Alex Kline, Kellys Collins and Hannah Blaylock) was released on October 26, 2018.[13] The five-track EP includes three songs co-written by Merlin, "Disengage" (written with Rob Pagnano and Lauren Weintraub), “Anyway” (written with Chris Parker), and "Humans Being" (written with Brian Dean Maher and Skip Black), as well as "Living Proof" (written by Matthew McVaney, Emily Weisband and Jennifer Schott).[10]

Discography

Extended plays

Title	Album details	Peak Billboard chart positions
		Heatseekers - Northeast
Humans Being	Release date: February 8, 2019 Label: Self-released Formats: Extended play	4
Boomerang	Release date: January 20, 2015 Label: Self-released Formats: Extended play	2
"—" denotes items which failed to chart.

Releases from The Voice

Year	Single	Peak Billboard chart positions
		Bubbling Under Hot 100 [14]	Hot Country Songs [15]	Heatseekers Songs	Digital Song Sales	Digital Tracks	Country Digital Song Sales	Pop Digital Song Sales	Hot Canadian Digital Song Sales
2014	"Something More"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Turn On the Radio"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"I Can Love You Better"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Two Black Cadillacs"	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
	"Stay"	—	38	—	—	—	23	—	—
	"Let Her Go"	—	35	—	—	—	23	—	—
	"I Drive Your Truck"	—	40	—	—	—	30	—	—
	"Gunpowder & Lead"	—	47	—	—	—	47	—	—
	"Foolish Games"	11	—	19	44	44	—	24	58
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

Music videos

Year	Video	Director
2018	"Don't Call It a Comeback"	Sean Hagwell

References

1. Valdez, Jennifer. "'The Voice': Season 6, Top 5, Semifinals". www.metro.us/newyork/. Metro. Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 12 July 2014.
2. Rohwedder, Kristie. "'The Voice' Is Baaaaaack!". Bustle. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
3. "'The Voice' contestant Kristen Merlin powers through mic outage". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
4. "'Voice' singer Kristen Merlin on audio malfunction: I wanted to 'run off and cry'". TODAY.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
5. "Watch Kristen Merlin Lose Sound Mid-Performance on The Voice Live Shows". Us Weekly. 2014-04-22. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
6. "The Voice: Adam Levine Praises Kristen Merlin After Her Mic Dies". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
7. "'The Voice' Recap: Top 5 Double Up for Semifinals, Usher Sings 'Good Kisser' (Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
8. "The Voice: Season 6 finalists named | The Star". thestar.com. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
9. "Dynamic Singer, Songwriter Kristen Merlin to Perform in AMU". Findlay Newsroom. 2017-01-30. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
10. "The Voice's Kristen Merlin Don't Call It A Comeback – Times Square Chronicles". Retrieved 2019-02-19.
11. "The Voice: Season 6 Top Five Finalist, Kristen Merlin, Releases Debut EP, Boomerang". Retrieved 2019-02-20.
12. Anonymous (2013-01-02). "Heatseekers - Northeast". Billboard. Retrieved 2019-02-25.
13. Don't Call It a Comeback - Single by Kristen Merlin, retrieved 2019-02-20
14. "Kristen Merlin Album & Song Chart History - Bubbling Under Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2014.
15. "Kristen Merlin Album & Song Chart History - Hot Country Songs". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved December 11, 2014.