Dupre ready to do battle on NBC hit show

Bayou Chicot native James Dupre didn’t have to battle to hard during his debut on NBC’s hit show The Voice, with three judges’ chairs turning within the first 15 seconds of Dupre’s blind audition.
Dupre ended his audition with a four chair turn, which then left all options open for which team Dupre would like to be on. Up until the judges took their turn to try and persuade Dupre to choose their team, the singer was favoring one judge in particular.
“The order I had in mind was Blake [Shelton] as my number one pick.” Dupre described the decision he had to make between the judges as “a really tough one” because “Pharrell and Gwen [Stefani] said some really great things too.”
However, after hearing what each judge had to say, the 30-year-old country singer shocked the people that know him best by choosing Maroon 5 front man Adam Levine as his coach.
“I really loved what Adam had to say,” Dupre said. “It was really cool that Adam said he heard some James Taylor in my voice because that meant to me that he understood kind of what I was doing.”
However, there was also a little strategy to Dupre’s decision to choose Levine’s team too. Dupre said, “He also made a good point and said that every country singer goes to Blake and it’s time that somebody breaks the mold and tries something different.”
Dupre also saw an opportunity to expand on the musical knowledge that he already possesses. “I think that Adam can show me a different twist on the style of country that I do,” Dupre said. “I also think that Adam will help me think outside of the box and challenge me with songs that I may have never thought of trying to do.”
Even though the competition may entail more than just having the ability to belt out a song in perfect pitch, Dupre’s strategic pick to be on Levine’s team won’t change the fact that Dupre loves to perform country. Dupre said, “I think I’ll always be a country singer.”
With the blind auditions complete, the next part of this journey for Dupre will involve battling against one of Levine’s other team members with the hopes that Levine will choose to keep Dupre on his team. The battle rounds are set to begin Monday night at 7:00 p.m. and then will continue Tuesday night at 8:00 p.m.
While the battle rounds are just as nerve racking as the blind auditions, Dupre’s younger brother Jake is ready for the action to begin. “Obviously I’m hoping James advances but I’m also really excited for the battle rounds because I’m going to get to see my brother work with music legend John Fogerty.”