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Amanda Mikkel received a four-chair turn for her beautiful rendition of “Moon River” on The Voice. Mikkel was not able to choose her coach, as Adam Levine used his “First-In” to choose her for his team. Mikkel talked to Deepest Dream about “Moon River,” her journey on The Voice, and why her “greatest mission” is “community and people.”
Read more: Amanda Mikkel Talks ‘The Voice,’ “Moon River,” And Why “Community And People” Is “Greatest Mission”“I learned ‘Moon River’ when I was a freshman in high school,” said Amanda Mikkel. “We did it as a choral set – we sang it all together. It was very by the book as far as the notes and harmonies were concerned. I’ve just always loved the song since that moment. You know, songs you learn when you’re young. They’re just always ingrained in you.”
After her four-chair turn performance, Mikkel was honest with the coaches and said she was living out of her car. “I just felt like it was something I was always trying to find a way to manuever around,” said Mikkel. “And being able to say it out loud, it was like taking a deep breath. This is not something that is a stumbling block. If anything, it is helping me push the needled forward to remind me (that) I can do hard things. It’s scary, but it’s also what my real life is, and I feel like other creatives who are going through the same thing who might, you know, possibly be dealing with shame and all these things. If this happens to be your situation, things can still work out.”
Mikkel added that there were so many positive lessons and insights on The Voice. “I think I learned that we are all living the same life in different fonts as far as how we think about our artistry and how we think about our journeys,” said Mikkel. “I met so many people who are, like, parallel in so many areas that, and then so many people who are not. It’s all been a fun, full circle journey for me because I’ve always been around other singers in choir. But we’re not a choir this time. We’re here to advocate for ourselves and our own gifts and watching people do it so effortlessly in their artistry was such a highlight for me. I got to meet so many amazing people who I call friends now.”
We close the interview with Mikkel discusses why she continues to work hard to chase her dreams: “I tell people all the time, like I feel like my greatest mission is community and people,” said Mikkel. “I want everybody to feel like they deserve and they belong. I know that irregardless of what people’s pasts have been on the show, everybody worked extremely hard to get to where they got. So I think a lot of the time we just need to give a hats off to ourself and it’s easier when you have community to give yourself a pat on the back. Because the people around you who love you are going to be cheering you along no matter what.”
Full interview with Amanda Mikkel:
