LOS ANGELES, Ca. — Step aside, Biebs.
Shye Roberts, a Bethlehem singer and contestant on "The Voice," wowed her coach Michael Bublé and won the Battle Round on Monday night, advancing to the next round on the NBC show.
The 18-year-old Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts alum performed Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself" with Jamison Puckett, a singer based in Los Angeles.
Before taking the stage, Bublé called Roberts' voice rich, deep and unique.
"There's something that she has, I can't put my finger on it yet. I need more time to get to know her, but I think she's a really special and unique person," he said.
'Zero nerves'
Roberts, a 2024 graduate of the South Bethlehem-based charter school, skipped her high school graduation, held on June 10, to audition for "The Voice" — now airing its 26th season.
The battle rounds began on "The Voice" on Oct. 21 with Bublé and fellow coaches Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani and Snoop Dogg.
During the show's battle rounds, Bublé mentored 14 singers in preparation for the sing-offs, which determine which artist will go to the knockout rounds and which will be sent home.
After Roberts' battle performance, Stefani, lead singer of No Doubt, said she was impressed by her maturity, especially as a teenager carrying the Bieber hit about self-love and humility, written by Ed Sheeran.
"I cannot believe what you just did. You have zero nerves it seems like," Stefani said. "I couldn't have done that. It's just so cool to watch."
A member of Team Bublé
Despite feeling terrified, Roberts during a recent phone interview says she feels proud of herself for getting this far.
Her blind audition, a cover of Five for Fighting's "Superman (It's Not Easy)" got a four-chair turn from the judges.
Of picking Bublé as her coach, she says it was partly due to his uniqueness.
"You know it's him as soon as he hits the radio. His performances on stage are just beautiful. He has such a way that he carries himself and the way that he sings and allows the audience to perceive him," she said.
His down-to-earth personality — despite a reputation as a jokester on the reality show — was also part of reason she said she chose his team.
"He's a very honest person, and we've talked about this, he knows what it's like to be in the position of somebody who has a passion for music, but doesn't know how to start a career," Roberts said. "He's super easy to talk to and not at all intimidating as a person. I just knew going into the show that if he turned around that was who I wanted to pick."
Missed graduation, online audition
After multiple rounds of video submissions and background checks, producers from "The Voice" invited her to fly to Los Angeles, where the show is filmed, to audition in person.
Before taping the blind auditions segment, Roberts got a chance to converse with the competition.
"The day of the [blind audition] I was a wreck," she said. "It was definitely like a rough day for me. I was talking to some of the other artists and the contestants and that calmed me down. We were bonding over the experience and we had some time to talk before, so we had all known each other decently well by that time."
Her experience in musical theater helped instill confidence, she said.
"Musical theater has helped with my self-esteem in terms of acting —everything that matters when it comes to getting on stage," she said.
'Write as much as I can'
Roberts is the youngest of four-half siblings, aged 28 to 42. She credits them for introducing her to a wider range of musical genres.
"We would listen to everything from rock to R&B, so I grew up pretty well-rounded in a musical sense," she said. "I used to sing with my siblings a lot. My sister Charren used to sing and was in high school theater. She's the one who primarily used to do duets with me.
"We used to make up songs and sing songs that she wanted me to learn. We would do acting skits and my mom would be behind the camera recording."
Roberts lives with her mom, Sheila, and her stepdad. They moved to Bethlehem in 2023 from Glen Gove on Long Island, New York.
She finished her senior year at Lehigh Valley Charter High School for the Arts during the 2023-2024 academic year.
At the charter school, she belonged to the treble and touring choir and performed at their coffeehouse performances at Godfrey Daniels in Bethlehem. She won best soloist at the school's adjudicated performance through WorldStrides in New Orleans in 2023.
"I moved here because I had a sick family member that we had to help out after surgery and I really like it actually," Roberts said. "It took a long time to get used to, because I've just never been here before. But I really do like the area and I liked my school."
Since Roberts can't reveal about her journey on "The Voice," viewers will have to stay tuned to learn the outcome.
"Right now, I'm really just trying my best to write as much music as I can and get a jump start on my musical career now that I have somewhat of a fan base," she said. "It's pop music with dashes of soul and folk songs."
"The Voice" airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on NBC.
