Meghan Linsey

Meghan Linsey, a vocalist and songwriter rooted in contemporary country, first gained notice as one half of the charting duo Steel Magnolia before striking out on her own. She later appeared as a contestant during season eight of the singing competition The Voice. Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1985, she spent her formative years in Ponchatoula within Tangipahoa Parish. At fourteen she assembled a band to launch her career, and within a year the group was supporting major country headliners such as Brad Paisley and Blake Shelton on bills throughout Louisiana and Texas. She also performed solo on multiple occasions at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe. After finishing school she moved to Music City, where her first position was hosting karaoke nights at Lonnie’s Western Room. Her independently issued debut album, This Is Now, arrived in 2002.

At twenty-three she joined her boyfriend Joshua Scott Jones to form Steel Magnolia. The pair entered the CMT series Can You Duet? and claimed victory in its second season. Their first single, “Keep on Lovin’ You,” surfaced in 2009 and reached the Top Five on the country charts. An Academy of Country Music nomination for Duo of the Year followed in 2010. A second advance track, “Just by Being You (Halos and Wings),” landed in the Top 20, while two later singles each charted inside the Top 30 on various country rankings. The duo’s sole album, the self-titled Steel Magnolia, was released in 2011 and debuted inside the country albums Top Ten. They parted ways both personally and professionally in 2013.

Linsey returned with her first solo single that December, a cover of OneRepublic’s “Counting Stars.” During her audition for The Voice she drew offers from three of the four coaches; Blake Shelton was the sole holdout, yet she ultimately chose Pharrell Williams as her mentor for the 2015 season. Eliminated early in the battle rounds, she was later brought back after Shelton exercised his steal. He later acknowledged that passing on her initially had been “one of the biggest mistakes of my life.”