John Legend’s team: The Voice Season 24 photos, biographies, artist ratings

Mara Justine (4 chair turn)

Hometown: Galloway, New Jersey.

Mara grew up in a close-knit Italian family and was 9 years old when she made her first appearance, performing Whitney Houston’s “Greatest Love of All” at a local competition. When she won, things got better and she started performing at charity events and sporting events. Now Mara performs at local Jersey Shore bars and restaurants, and her whole family comes to watch. Mara’s mom, Linda, was diagnosed with early stage breast cancer and is the one who holds the family together, doing her best to be present during surgery, radiation and/or chemotherapy. Linda wants to overcome her breast cancer journey as quickly as possible and not miss any of Mara’s journey.

Stee (4 chair turn)

Hometown: Washington, DC

Ste never wanted to be compared to his parents, classically trained singers. Instead, he grew up dreaming of being an engineer until he heard R&B singer Mario and felt inspired. In 2014, he formed his own group and performed at weddings and other events. One of Ste’s biggest fans and supporters was his cousin Matthew, who also wanted to be a singer but was battling diabetes, which physically prevented him from pursuing his dream. Matthew has been encouraging Ste to audition for The Voice since 2013. Unfortunately, Ste never got the chance to tell Matthew he would be taking the stage because Matthew passed away in May, but Ste is thrilled to live this journey in honor of Matthew. .

Ephraim Owens (4 chair turn)

Hometown: Indianapolis, Indiana

As a child, Ephraim was surrounded by music. One of eight siblings, his grandmother sang backing vocals for Marvin Gaye and Al Green, and his father was a minister of music. Ephraim drives to his wife’s family’s eight-acre property every day. By day, Ephraim operates a dangerous and rare Hess machine called the RH1000, which casts stone. Ephraim’s favorite job, however, is waking up at 5:30 a.m. to make the kids breakfast or buy them donuts. Ephraim’s determination and tenacity to now pursue music was shaped by his six-year career as an MMA fighter. He often trained six hours a day before a fight. He enjoys fighting, but he knows that’s not who he is, so he decided to take a step back and make music a priority.

DJ Young (3 chair turn)

Hometown: Tampa, Florida.

Growing up, DJ’s mom was a choir director and encouraged him to sing. By the age of five, he was cast in a gospel play that toured Florida, Georgia and Alabama during the summer. As an adult, at the request of his grandmother, DJ decided to drop out of college to pursue music. “Hamilton” came to Orlando for casting and has since toured with the company as the lead understudy for five of the seven male roles. As a backup, the DJ comes to the theater warmed up and ready for each performance, ready to replace the lead actor at any time. DJ’s grandmother always sincerely believed in him, but she died suddenly and unexpectedly. She never got to see him perform in Hamilton, but DJ feels like she’s still there in spirit, pushing him forward.

Claudia B. (3 chair rotation)

Hometown: Washington, DC

With many musicians in her family, Claudia B. grew up immersed in music, studying the piano, singing in the church choir, and fronting two rock bands in her early teens. Hungry for more, Claudia skipped her senior year of high school, earning her GED, to attend Berklee College of Music. At Berklee she studied songwriting, vocal performance, and music business. Immediately after graduation, Claudia moved to Nashville, where she now works full-time as a professional musician, writing and performing as a keyboardist and singer in several weekly concerts. Claudia is known for her creative arrangements of pop, soul, country and jazz covers, which listeners often say they prefer to the originals. In March of this year, she got engaged to fellow singer-songwriter Jacob Lutz during a trip to Paris.

Talakai (2 chair rotation)

Hometown: Sacramento, California.

Talakai grew up with his grandparents. After his grandfather passed away when he was 10, Talakai was repeatedly abused, ran away and found shelter in Sacramento with the help of other homeless people. The shelter contacted child protective services, who began the long journey into foster care. After years of potential forever homes, Talakai’s friend’s mom eventually adopted him. Around the same time, Talakay developed his sexuality and dated a woman. While they were together, they had a son, De’Amani, but they separated after Talakay realized that he was truly gay. He later met her husband Alejandro, who also has children from a previous marriage to a woman. They got married and united their families. Focusing on gratitude and healing, Talakay now works as a minister by day and sings and writes songs by night. Having struggled with self-confidence for many years, Talakay has always dreamed of performing on the big stage and is honored to be a part of The Voice.

Who is next?

Continue watching “The Voice” every Monday and Tuesday on NBC to find out which upcoming artists are joining each of the four teams.