How this Harris County teen won a spot with Team Legend on ‘The Voice’ TV show
AJ Robinson counted down the days until he turned 13.
He knew that’s the minimum age to try out for “The Voice” reality TV show and singing competition on NBC. So, as soon as he hit that birthday, the Calvary Christian School ninth-grader and Harris County resident submitted an online audition video — starting a months‑long journey of communicating and interviewing with producers, waiting for responses and eventually traveling across the country with his mother, Shannon, from Cataula to a Hollywood studio.
All of this resulted in AJ, now 14, appearing on the Season 29 premiere of “The Voice” on Feb. 23 and advancing to the next round.
“It did not feel real at all,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer.
“We literally pinch ourselves every day,” Shannon told the L-E. “… Is this real life?”
Music early and sports on the side
AJ first submitted video of himself singing two country songs: “Amarillo by Morning” by George Strait and “Something in the Orange” by Zach Bryan.
“I feel like those really showed off my tone,” he said. “Kind of what I want to go for in music.”
Shannon remembers him whistling tunes in his car seat as a toddler and asking Santa Claus for a keyboard when he was 5. AJ started playing it by ear.
“He was playing songs left and right,” she said. “Our jaws dropped.”
Over the years, AJ learned to play harmonica, guitar, mandolin, banjo and drums without any formal lessons. He played and sang at his church, Christ Chapel, in Hamilton and at venues around the Columbus area. Meanwhile, he also played baseball, basketball and golf.
In 2023, AJ appeared on ESPN, pitching for the Georgia state champion Harris County Little League all‑star team during the regional tournament in Warner Robins. But after his 12‑year‑old Little League season, he decided to make music his priority. Sports are fun, AJ said, but music feels like his calling.
“I’ve just always had this deep passion for music that I was born with, and it’s something that I just, I’ve always gravitated toward it,” he said. “I don’t even see myself doing anything else with my life, like when I think about me and my future. All I think about is music.”
Chasing ‘The Voice’
As a fan of “The Voice,” AJ figured by the time he turned 13 to become eligible to be a contestant, it was worth the time it took to audition.
“I didn’t know if it’ll do anything,” he said, “but I wanted to give it a shot, even though thousands of people try out year-round.”
Shannon said she was told approximately 300,000 people tried out for “The Voice” this season.
After submitting his video in August 2024, an official from “The Voice” asked him a month later to submit another video with two more songs.
For that round, AJ sang “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” by Brooks and Dunn, and “Sounds Like the Radio” by Zach Top.
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Over the next several months, producers of “The Voice” continued to show more interest in AJ. They requested background information about him and conducted several interviews with him.
The attention was thrilling, AJ said, but he tried to keep it in perspective.
“Wow, they kept coming back for more,” he said, “but I still tried to not get too excited because you never know what can happen.”
The call and the summer in Hollywood
In February 2025, a producer from “The Voice” called and asked whether AJ and Shannon could fly to Los Angeles that summer.
“We want you to be on the show,” AJ recalled the producer telling him.
“It did not feel real at all,” he said. “So thankful and so surprised, really, because, you know, just the odds of it were so slim.”
Shannon said, “We were just very grateful, and we were very excited. There were lots of emotions. I mean, it was a roller coaster.”
The field of contestants narrowed from “around 200” to “around 50,” AJ said, while he continued to advance through each phase of the tryouts — from vocal coaching to rehearsals to blind auditions as he and his mom flew back to Los Angeles three times that summer of filming.
“There were cameras everywhere,” Shannon said. “It’s more than what I even dreamed of.”
AJ Robinson’s blind audition
Blind auditions on “The Voice” have the celebrity judges, called coaches on the show, sit with their backs to the contestants. When coaches decide they want to choose a contestant for their team, they swivel their chair to face the contestant. This season, the coaches are Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Adam Levine.
AJ’s blind audition started early at Universal Studios in Hollywood.
“I had to get my outfit on, and they were fixing me up,” he said. “I was getting excited and really nervous.”
AJ remembered standing behind the stage doors as producers counted down the time until his blind audition.
“They’re like, ‘10 seconds,’ and I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh,’” he said. “When the doors finally opened, it was dead silent. … I’m walking in with the lights on me, and it’s really quiet, and I’m just making sure I can even walk up the stairs and don’t trip because I’m so nervous,”
As he walked onto the stage, the TV cameras showed only AJ’s cowboy boots approach the microphone before he started singing “Watermelon Moonshine” by Lainey Wilson while he played acoustic guitar
AJ didn’t even get through the first verse before Legend chose him for his team.
“When John turns his chair around for me,” AJ recalled, “I’m in a state of shock. … It’s unexplainable. It was a big relief for me because we’ve been through so much — from the interviews to practicing, and we’re in LA for a couple of months total at that point, and I saw so many people get eliminated.”
Shannon and her husband, Stephen, were in a viewing area with cameras filming them as they watched their son’s blind audition with “The Voice” host, Carson Daly, beside them. After they saw Legend select their son, they tearfully and joyfully hugged while Daly applauded.
“We actually saw the back of AJ, but we could watch him on a big-screen TV,” Shannon said. “… I was just very proud of AJ, because it took a lot of bravery to do this, especially at his age.”
Although she didn’t choose him for her team, Clarkson told AJ during the episode she was mighty impressed. And she offered some advice.
“Honestly, I think if you have more breath for breath control, you’ll stay on key a little bit better,” Clarkson told AJ. “You are going to do so well, and I’m very excited for you to be on ‘The Voice.’ Congratulations.”
Legend explained to AJ why he chose him.
“I loved your tone,” he said. “I love the way your voice kind of floats. It was, like, airy, and it has a richness that sounds way richer than it should sound when you’re only 14 years old. I am ready to help you do really well on this show, AJ.”
AJ replied, “This doesn’t seem real. Oh my gosh.”
Premiere night back home
After returning home to Harris County, AJ began his ninth‑grade year at Calvary Christian School in Columbus.
The winner of “The Voice” receives $100,000 and a recording contract with Universal Music Group. The Robinsons signed a nondisclosure agreement that forbids them from saying how far AJ advanced in the competition, but they said their experience going through the filming of “The Voice” is priceless.
“I would let him do it again,” Shannon said. “That whole staff is amazing. I cannot say enough good things about them. I love them.”
The Robinsons also cherish the time they spent with family and friends while hosting a watch party for the season premiere of “The Voice” Feb. 23, when AJ’s blind audition aired.
With about 50 folks crowded into their living room, it was tough for the Robinsons to keep secret that everyone would see AJ get selected — not to mention for six months since the filming.
“Oh, that was really hard,” AJ said with a smile.
After the crowd erupted with cheers when Legend chose him, AJ went to his bedroom and put on his Team Legend jersey. When he rejoined the party, “everybody was going crazy,” he said.
Shannon called it “another crying moment. … I didn’t think I was gonna cry, but, I mean, it really touched me, just seeing him on TV, knowing it was national TV, all these people here to support him.”
AJ beamed as he described the scene.
“It meant the world to me,” he said, “just being so thankful for everybody that I have, not only family but all the friends supporting me too.”
‘It just feels right to me’
AJ’s experience on “The Voice” changed him beyond all the coaching he received as a singer, musician and performer. Getting used to the interviews and the cameras pushed him past his natural shyness.
‘I feel like this has really helped me gain more confidence in myself,” he said.
AJ also developed friendships with other contestants, whom he considers extended family from the summer-camp atmosphere while waiting between filming sessions.
“They all love music — they have the same passion — so I was really clicking with all these people,” he said.
So, regardless of whether he wins “The Voice” grand prize, AJ already feels like a winner. This journey affirmed his hope that he can succeed in music and on stage, that he belongs in such a community.
“Being out in front of a crowd is just such a good feeling,” he said. “… Making people happy, … it just feels right to me.”
This story was originally published March 12, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
