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Ashley Marina received a three chair turn on The Voice: Battle of Champions for her rendition of the Keith Urban track “Tonight I Wanna Cry.” The Pittsburgh native, who was on America’s Got Talent when she was 12, chose John Legend as her coach. Marina talked to Deepest Dream about her experience on the show and she also talks about being inspired as a student in Belmont University.
Read more: Ashley Marina Talks ‘The Voice: Battle of Champions’ And Songwriting: “I Want To Be A Storyteller”
“The thing that drew me towards John Legend was his ability for songwriting and his emotion (and ability to) connect when he performs,” said Ashley Marina. “That’s something that I strive to do when I perform.”
**full interview with Ashley Marina:
Along with being a performer, Marina is also a devoted songwriter. During her younger years, Marina was influenced by such “big diva” singers like Whitney Houston and Celine Dion. As she matured as an artist, things organically changed. “Once I started writing my own music, I kind of fell into the full country genre,” said Marina. “That’s really become my thing. I want to be a storyteller, play the piano and sit down (with) my guitar. Even though I can sing these big ballads, I really want to be my own person – if that makes sense.”
Listen to Marina’s single 8Teen:
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