From the time she sang her first musical notes, Chelsea Boyles loved singing. As a little girl, she sang with her sister Chloe at First Baptist Church in Shinnston and by the time she was in middle school, she was performing the National Anthem at West Virginia University basketball games. As a Lincoln High School freshman, she competed in the Colgate Country Showdown, singing stage to stage - all the way to state runner-up. The vocalist has appeared on the stage of the West Virginia Italian Heritage Festival and even The World Famous Nashville Palace.

 

In the spring of 2016, she found herself in Los Angeles, doing a blind audition for Season 11 of “The Voice” in front of celebrity judges Blake Shelton, Miley Cyrus, Adam Levine and Alicia Keys.

 

“I got up on stage to audition and I felt really good about it, but that’s literally the most nervous I have ever been to sing,” she said. “I’ve been singing since I was three and it never affected me like that. I was in front of four huge stars – and it was intense.”

 

Boyles had breezed through three preliminary audition rounds – two in Philadelphia and one in LA – before advancing to the final audition to qualify her for an appearance on the popular NBC talent search.

 

“I didn’t make it through, but all of the coaches gave me really positive and great feedback,” Boyles said. “They could all tell it was nerves, but you know everything happens for a reason and it was a really fun experience.”

 

It was more than a year ago when Boyles decided to audition for “The Voice.”

 

“I’ve always been a fan, but my No. 1 reason for doing it was to get that exposure because what it comes down to is if you want a career in music, you have to be heard and have to have fans,” she said.

 

Nearly a year ago, Boyles traveled to Philadelphia for her first – and then second – audition.

 

“So I got through that one and made it to LA where about a week later, I had another audition,” she said.

 

After making it through the third round, Boyles and other Season 11 potential contestants spent weeks rehearsing, working with vocal coaches and wardrobe specialists.

 

“There were a lot of meetings – going over contracts for the show, just in case we did make it on,” she said. “It was a month of work and super fun.”

 

Boyles performs a lot of her own original music and usually throws in some cover songs by her favorite country artists, like Sara Evans, Whitney Duncan and John Mellencamp. For her first three auditions for “The Voice,” she chose “My Church” by Mauren Morris.

When it came time for the blind audition, she decided to stick with the same selection.

 

“I felt really comfortable with it and had gotten past the first three rounds and I felt good about it, so that’s what I went with,” she said.

Boyles’ family – her parents, sisters and grandmother – had flown out to LA to support her, but she didn’t see them much until her experience with “The Voice” was over.

 

“I was literally completely sequestered,” she said. “It’s a pretty serious deal. I got to see them for a couple interviews and before my blind audition, then I had to leave them completely. We stayed in different hotels.”

 

Shelton, Levine, Cyrus and Keys all encouraged Boyles to audition for “The Voice” again in the future.

 

“I’m not sure if I’ll do it again. I probably will,” she said. “We’ll see, but right now that’s really not where my heart is.”

 

Now her focus is in the heart of Nashville, where she relocated in November.

 

“I’m here songwriting and networking like crazy,” she said.

 

That decision also came from the audition process with “The Voice.”

 

“While in LA, I met so many people, including some really great friends,” she said. “So when I got back home in Shinnston, I sat down with my parents and told them I was going to do it. I was super motivated and needed to be in Nashville.”

 

Boyles moved to Nashville with Karlee Metzger, who had also auditioned for “The Voice.”

 

“She actually made it on the show and advanced to the knockout round,” Boyles said.

 

Boyles, who plays guitar, and Metzger, who plays piano, spend a lot of time playing and writing together. Boyles continues to pursue country music and Metzger leans toward Indie pop.

 

“But she loves country music and our writing styles are very similar, so it’s really cool  living with someone I can write with and we sing together,” Boyles said. “We love harmonizing with each other so that’s really cool too.”

 

In addition to her musical pursuits, Boyles works in the field of aviation. After graduating in 2013 from Fairmont State with a degree in business, she had been employed with Pratt-Whitney. In Tennessee, she was able to secure a similar position with another company.

 

“I’m a business operations specialist, so I work on the business side of it,” she said. “It’s a super fun job.”

 

This isn’t Boyles’ first experience in Nashville.

 

“All through high school and college, I was making trips back and forth to Nashville singing and networking and I did a project with a guy here in Nashville about four years ago,” she said.

 

But this time around in music city, she’s more serious about the pursuit, which is backed by plenty of passion.

 

“This has always been my dream,” she said. “It’s really cool living in a place where so many people share the same passion for music.”

 

Boyles is focused on getting new original material before she starts booking bigger venues.

 

“I’ve been trying to meet some great songwriters and trying to collaborate with them to come up with some really cool songs for me," she said.

 

When she’s not working – or writing, singing or networking – Boyles and Metzger and other friends spend time on Music Row, Broadway or anyplace they can listen to music.

 

“We’ve seen RaeLynn a couple times which is cool. She was on ‘The Voice’ a couple seasons back,” she said. “We’ve seen Lauren Alaina a couple times and we saw Kid Rock last weekend. It’s just crazy how many people we see.”

 

Boyles is excited about the musical transformation that’s in progress.

 

“Two or three years ago I was singing covers and wasn’t really sure how to be myself,” she said. “Now I’m able to be super creative and come up with my own thing - creating a new sound for me – something that will set me apart from anyone else in country music industry."