Going with her gut: Local singer Cara Brindisi chooses 'Team Gwen' after 'Voice' audition

Cara Brindisi made a big splash Monday night on NBC’s “The Voice” with husband and wife celebrity coaches Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani battling it out for her affection.

In the end, the 34-year-old Brindisi chose “Team Gwen,” despite Camila Cabello, to the chagrin of Stefani, giving a glowing endorsement of why Brindisi should join “Team Blake.”

“It was surreal and it was nerve-wracking. But there is a part of it that’s like, 'You know what? This feels like a good fit,'” Brindisi said Tuesday on the phone. “I feel like this is something my life has prepared me for and I’ve dreamt of my whole life. There’s a part of it that, kind of, makes sense too.”

Brindisi, who graduated from Shrewsbury High School and Berklee College of Music in Boston, wowed the celebrity coaches with her tender rendition of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” a song she performed at stART in the Street in Worcester eight days earlier.

“All of the coaches would be amazing to work with but I definitely want Blake (Shelton) to turn for me,” Brindisi said during her introductory video. “Over the years watching the way he coaches, it would just be really exciting to get that experience.”

Thirty-seven seconds into her performance, Shelton and Stefani slapped their buttons simultaneously to turn their chairs around to see the songbird singing her heart out on the other side, while the camera cut to Brindisi’s ecstatic parents, Thomas and Joyce Brindisi, cheering her on from the wings.

When asked by Cabello why she chose that song, Brindisi said, “I just love songs that tell stories and that story is one, I think, most everyone, in some point in their life, can relate to.”

After some banter between the coaches, Shelton addressed the singer.

“Clearly, I heard the country side of you. I heard some twang come out in your voice and it was ringing my bell. It really was,” Shelton said. “I hear something that I haven’t heard this entire season. I want this girl on my team. So I’d love to be your coach.”

Brindisi confesses that she was thrown off by Shelton’s “twang” comment.

“For my whole life, I’ve had people tell me to sing country. I don’t know if it’s just the tone of my voice but I’m a Massachusetts girl,” Brindisi said Tuesday. “I didn’t grow up listening to deep-cut country music. I do love country but I don't see myself as being a country artist. I see myself doing the type of country that a Brandi Carlile or an Alison Krauss (would do).”

Then it was Stefani’s turn.

“I was born in the ‘70s. I listen to all kinds of singer-songwriters — Carly Simon, Joni Mitchell. I love storytelling. I love just putting your heart into a song and be able to relate to something that somebody went through and then letting the vocal take you there,” Stefani said. “I would like to be your coach. If you want me, Team Gwen is here for you.”

Then came the moment of truth — Team Blake or Team Gwen.

“I didn’t really expect this, but my gut is Gwen,” Brindisi said.

Afterward, on the telecast, Brindisi said, “I had both Blake and Gwen as my top two. But, when she gave me her two cents about why I would be a good fit for her team, it really did it. It just clicked.

“I went with Gwen because I grew up listening to Gwen Stefani. Not that I’m not a fan of Blake but I’m an actual, original Gwen Stefani fan from my childhood. I was a kid in the ‘90s. I had (No Doubt’s) 'Tragic Kingdom.’ No Doubt was the band,” Brindisi said Tuesday. “And I just stood there and saw Gwen Stefani. 'Wait a minute. I really want to learn from this woman.' I’ve admired her my whole life. And I also thought, if I make it far, maybe Blake is part of the package deal.”

Brindisi said it’s such an honor and privilege to be in Stefani’s presence.

“When I was standing there, I’m like, 'I want that mentorship. I want that learning experience,'” Brindisi said of Stefani. “She’s a woman who, I’m sure, has stories of her own in an industry that is still very male-dominated … She’s pushed her way to the absolute top. There’s a lot to learn from that no matter what level you’re at.”

The Shrewsbury native who calls Worcester her home said she really loves doing music therapy every single day, so much so that her aspirations to become a full-time singer-songwriter always took a back seat to her day job.

“When I was playing out on the weekends all those years back in the day it was more for myself and to keep having fun with music but the opportunities started getting a little bigger and it was always a thought it my mind, 'Why don’t I do "The Voice?"'" Brindisi recalled. “And the reason I didn’t do it, part of it, was my loyalty to my music therapy career but also my insecurity in being in my 20s.”

But, in recent years, Brindisi had a change of heart about her singing-songwriting career and auditioning for “The Voice.”

“When I turned 30, I had a lot of things in my life change very drastically overnight. Things that I put a lot of weight into, like buying a home, starting a family, all that stuff, just overnight, stopped,” she said. “And, within only about a year or two after that was COVID. So here I am in my early, almost mid-30s … Why not? Why not now?”

Brindisi, who describes herself as her harshest critic, said she was “more pleasantly surprised than disappointed” with her performance for her blind audition.

“I have been performing my whole life. I've never been as nervous as I was when I walked on that stage,” Brindisi said. “There’s a different element to it that it’s not just a performance. It’s also televised in front of absolute mega-superstars. You’re being judged. You can’t even see their faces before they turn their chairs … I could hear that my breathing wasn’t super-confident. But, at the same time, I did feel good about it too.”

During her 90-second performance of Taylor Swift’s “All Too Well,” Brindisi said the experience felt “surreal.”

“Time was definitely not real,” Brindisi said with a chuckle. “The song was really challenging for me, vocally. I think I just wanted to make sure I got through the song. And, up to the point when Blake (Shelton) turned his chair, I felt, almost like, it wasn’t real.”

Prior to Brindisi’s blind audition was her video profile.

“Music is all I know,” Brindisi said. “Music is everything to me.”

Proudly declaring herself from Worcester, Massachusetts, Brindisi, a board-certified music therapist, said her chosen career path had been on her radar at an early age because her grandfather was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s.

“I saw the power of music with him,” Brindisi said.

Brindisi told the national audience that she spent a majority of her career doing work in a hospice setting.

“I’m so blessed. I have all these people over the years that I’ve gotten to work with. And to know that so many of them have wanted me to pursue my music and, especially, go on 'The Voice,' they’re all here with me. I don’t know if that sounds creepy,” Brindisi said with a laugh.

“It’s really, really special to share all of this. These things in life, these big moments mean nothing if you don’t have people to share them with. My parents, especially, they go to every gig. They go to everything. And they were never stage parents ever,” Brindisi said. “They just let me do what I love and supported me from day one. And day one was like 7 years old … So just to share that joy with them and share the big excitement of being in Hollywood together, to finally see that on TV, it was so special. And I love them so much and I’m so grateful for them.”

In addition to Brindisi, other Worcester-area musicians who have competed on the show include Season 20 competitor Ryleigh Modig, Season 17 runner-up Ricky Duran, Season 10 winner Alisan Porter and Season 3 competitor Sam James.

“My love for this city is so strong and I would not have done what I did this summer if it weren’t for so many people in this city that we call home,” Brindisi said. “Worcester was on that stage with me during that audition. I just feel so grateful. I’m so, so grateful. And I feel that this is a collective experience. It’s not just a Cara thing. This is for all of us.”

This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: Shrewsbury singer Cara Brindisi joins 'Team Gwen' in 'The Voice'