Kristen Merlin

From Hanson, Massachusetts, Kristen Merlin established herself early as a commanding vocalist, songwriter, and guitarist whose profile surged during her run as a contestant on season six of The Voice, where her intense performances and forthright discussion of her identity as a gay artist quickly built a dedicated following. Music and performance had always pulled at her; after initial study of the violin and later the saxophone, she received her first guitar from her mother during her junior year of high school, and within months she was teaching herself to play while also composing original material. At the University of New Haven in Connecticut she completed a B.A. in music and sound recording, using that period to meet fellow musicians, perform frequently at open-mike nights, and keep developing songs. After receiving her degree in 2007 she returned to Massachusetts, where she began frequenting local karaoke sessions and seizing every opportunity to sing into a microphone. With longtime friend Kristin Pimental she formed the duo Circling Straight, yet stepped away after a year to pursue solo work; she soon took the frontwoman role in the regional cover group Arctic Playground, later moved on to Six Foot Sunday in the same capacity, and ultimately launched the Kristen Merlin Band, which rapidly became a fixture on the New England club circuit. Recording sessions for her first album got underway with Taylor Barefoot at Barefoot Productions in Brighton, Massachusetts, and Sean McLaughlin at 37' Productions in Rockland, Massachusetts. Selection for season six of The Voice supplied the decisive career opening; although she did not claim the overall title, her advance to the Top Five generated thousands of new listeners. She then resumed work on the album, which she characterized as having “a hip-hop country kinda feel.”