Meghan Linsey

Meghan Linsey is a contemporary country vocalist and songwriter. She was a member of the charting duo Steel Magnolia before assuming a solo career. She was also a contestant on season eight of the American reality television series The Voice. Linsey was born in New Orleans, Louisiana in 1985, but raised in Ponchatoula in Tangipahoa Parish. She began pursuing a music career at age 14 by forming a band. A year later, she and her group were opening shows for top-tier country artists, including Brad Paisley and Blake Shelton, in Louisiana and Texas. Linsey also made several solo appearances at Nashville's famed Bluebird Cafe. Upon graduating, she relocated to Music City. Her first job was as a karaoke host at Lonnie's Western Room. Her independently released debut album, This Is Now, was issued in 2002. At 23, she and boyfriend Joshua Scott Jones formed Steel Magnolia. After entering the CMT reality series competition Can You Duet?, the duo won the show's second season. Steel Magnolia's debut single, "Keep on Lovin' You," was released in 2009 and earned a Top Five spot on the country charts. They received an Academy of Country Music Association nomination for Duo of the Year in 2010. A second pre-release single, "Just by Being You (Halos and Wings)," landed in the Top 20, while two subsequent singles also made the Top 30 on various country charts. Their lone self-titled album was issued in 2011 and debuted in the country albums Top Ten. The duo split personally and professionally in 2013. Her debut single, a cover of OneRepublic's "Counting Stars," was issued in December of that year. Linsey auditioned for The Voice, and after being solicited by three of four judges (the lone holdout was Shelton), she chose Pharrell Williams as her coach for the 2015 season. She was eliminated in the initial battle rounds, then revived in competition after being "stolen" by Shelton, who admitting not choosing her initially was "one of the biggest mistakes of my life."