Singer/Songwriter, Sloane Simon, talks about competing on “The Voice,” her upcoming debut album, and being excited for homework again.
What better way to kick off 2025 than with the January “Artist of the Month,” Sloane Simon! The singer/songwriter is coming off an amazing run on NBC’s “The Voice,” where she was coached by Michael Bublé and performed all season in front of a nationwide audience. The 20-year-old Fox Chapel native has played tons of shows throughout Pittsburgh. She also plays gigs in NYC—she is currently a student at NYU, studying at the Clive Davis Institute. She didn’t have your typical college semester!
In a phone interview, I spoke with the singer/guitarist about her experience on “The Voice,” her upcoming debut album, and being excited for homework again.
Musical Influences, Opening for Ann Wilson
Josh McCann: What age did you start singing and playing guitar?
Sloane Simon: I’ve been singing since I could speak, but I started playing guitar when I was nine years old. My mom was diagnosed with an aggressive spinal cancer. She got the guitar for me as a distraction and never would have imagined it would turn into this. So it’s been a crazy journey. She always jokes that I sang her back to health. It’s been quite the ride. I’m just so blessed and so grateful.
J: Did you have any musical influences when you started out?
S: As a kid, I was actually a huge Madonna fan. I love Joni Mitchell. I love the Beatles. My parents made a very clear point when I was a kid to introduce me to all the music they grew up with. That’s actually what a lot of my set is made up of.
J: I saw you perform at the Women Who Rock concert at Stage AE. You opened for Ann Wilson!
S: It was such an honor opening for Ann Wilson. Completely surreal. Like what a dream come true. Melinda Colaizzi, who’s the founder of Women Who Rock, really made me feel like a star that night, and I’m just so grateful for the opportunity to work with such a special organization.
J: You crushed it up there. Seemed very natural.
S: Oh my goodness, thank you, you’re so sweet. You know, it’s kind of funny. The place where I feel most comfortable is just on a stage performing for people. I love sharing music. I think it’s because I started when I was so young, you know, there was never that awkward phase. I just found love with it instantly.
J: Playing guitar is always a great feeling.
S: For sure.
Competing on NBC’s “The Voice”
J: How did the audition for “The Voice” come about?
S: My dad actually encouraged me to audition for the show right before I was leaving for my freshman year of college. I did an online audition and I completely forgot about it. A few months later, I got a call saying I was cast. I spent the summer in Los Angeles filming the episodes and it was incredible. I learned so much in the process and I had such an amazing time.
J: People don’t realize how much work it takes just to get to the audition on TV?
S: It takes a lot of work. They go from tens of thousands of people to 56 who make teams. I feel very proud and very thankful to have been there.
J: How did you feel when Michael Bublé and Gwen Stefani turned their chairs around during your blind audition?
S: Oh my goodness, I was not expecting anything, you are really just singing for a chair turn. I told myself I was gonna do my best and see what comes from it. I don’t know if you remember, but whenever they turned around my face instantly lit up. I was so excited and it shows. It felt very validating for all of the hard work I’ve put in and all of the time that I just worked on my songs. It was all the hard work coming to a point. It was just a really nice feeling.
J: What was it like performing on national television to millions of people?
S: To be quite honest with you, performing didn’t really feel very much different than what I normally do, but watching it back on TV when it aired with my family in my living room, that was surreal. That just feels like my mom’s playing a home video of me singing on TV. It doesn’t feel like other people are also watching it. Does that make sense?
J: So, when you’re performing, you’re aware of the audience at home, but it’s more of a natural thing with just playing music?
S: It definitely was more of a natural thing. It honestly just felt very intimate. You have the four coaches, you have a panel of producers, crew members, an audience of like 150 people max. The staging is insane. It’s easy to psych yourself out, but I definitely kept myself as calm as I possibly could.
J: You had some really fantastic performances. “Birds of a Feather” was really good.
S: That was a lot of fun. Yeah, thank you. I appreciate it. It was a great challenge. I think every performance brought something different depending on what I was singing, and I’m really grateful that I had the opportunity.
J: “Good Luck Babe” was a good one to close it out.
S: That was good. Michael picked that one for me.
Coached by Michael Bublé
J: How was Michael Bublé as a coach?
S: Michael is so, so kind. He really helped me feel really comfortable on the stage. There’s so much that happens behind the scenes that people don’t get to see. He would come up to me and give me a pep talk before I would sing, and in rehearsals, he’d be really helpful. There was a point where it was for playoffs, but we were filming—me, Michael, and Carly Pearce—and we were the last group out. It was probably around 10 p.m—we finished filming and we walked out of the studio arm-in-arm. He FaceTimed my mom.
He does genuinely care and I think that we were really able to connect on a deeper emotional level too because his son was really sick and so was my dad, so having that connection really just made me feel more at home.
J: I’m sorry to hear about your dad.
S: Thank you, I appreciate it.
J: I don’t know how you did it, but it was really remarkable to see.
S: I did it for him, so thank you.
J: That’s incredible. And you performed in front of Jennifer Hudson too!
S: I did! Hearing you say that does not feel real. I definitely got to work with some incredible people on the show and I still can’t believe it was real.
J: What an experience.
S: A total experience. Being on a set like that is just so surreal.
J: Is the stage smaller in person?
S: It’s definitely very intimate. Everybody is just very supportive and very kind. It’s a very well-oiled machine. There’s people for everything. So it’s very crazy to see how a production so big works. It was so cool.
J: I’ve always heard about how it’s a crash course in how the music industry works.
S: Definitely a crash course.
J: Did you have a lot of time to rehearse the songs?
S: I had two weeks to learn, practice, stage and perform each song as best as I could.
J: How has your life changed since “The Voice”?
S: You know, it’s changed and it hasn’t. I’m still me. I took the semester off to film the show, and until I go back to school, I’m just enjoying time with my family. I’m performing around Pittsburgh. I’m releasing an album this spring, so I’ve been getting prepared for that, which I’m really looking forward to. I have a few singles lined up for the new year. I’m really excited and I’m just keeping as busy as possible, and you know, this is gonna sound funny to say. I’m so excited to have homework again.
J: (Laughs) Like a normal routine of homework.
S: (Laughs) Yes, yes, I definitely missed that, but I’m really grateful to have this time to be with my family.
J: What do your classmates at NYU think of this?
S: Everybody is just so supportive. All of my friends had watch parties.
Original Songs
J: Your single “enough is enough!” is a good pop song. It’s almost like a crowd is singing at the end.
S: Funny story, those are all my best friends at school screaming.
J: Is that them in the music video?!
S: Yes, so the music video is all of my closest friends at school.
J: “crash into me” is different. I hear a Charli XCX influence.
S: Well, I got to tell you it was a brat summer so the influence is definitely there.
J: I can definitely hear the influence.
S: Well, thank you. Right now in my artistry, I’m really experimenting with genres. I feel like “crash into me” and “enough is enough!” are both in the pop realm, but they have different tropes of other genres, and I think that my upcoming EP has a very coherent sound, so I’m very excited to share that.
Upcoming Projects
J: You’re in the midst of recording a debut album. Will some of your previously released singles be on it?
S: It’s all new songs, which I’m really excited for. I have some singles leading up to it. I should have the EP done around April and I’m excited to share it. It’s a project I’m really proud of.
J: Your songs keep getting better.
S: Well, thank you. I think it definitely showcases the artist’s journey, you know, we’re constantly evolving, you know it.
J: Yes, definitely. Any shows coming up?
S: I have a few more shows lined up until I leave for school and then I’ll be back in the summer. I’ll be doing some shows in New York in the spring as well, so, definitely keeping busy.
Sloane Simon will be playing at Del Frisco’s at 6pm on Saturday, January 11th. For the latest show announcements and new music, check out her website, Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. You can stream her latest songs on Apple and Spotify.
Check out December’s Band of the Month here!
This content was provided by a local, independent contributor to Made in PGH, a lifestyle blog.
