A young Bucks County native gained traction in her full-time music career, putting on her first concert after a four-chair turn on the popular talent TV show, “The Voice.”
Laura Williams, a 20 year old Christian contemporary musician from Quakertown, was a fan favorite from season 24, hosted by Reba McEntire, John Legend, Gwen Stefani and Niall Horan.
Williams grew up her whole life singing, and when graduating high school, faced a crossroad of deciding between pursuing a college degree, or chasing her dreams of being a singer. Williams said, “I prayed on my roof one day in April when I was super conflicted, I said “God, I put my music career in your hands, whether it’s what I want or not.” And that night, a Christian based agency discovered me through social media, wanting to manage me full time for a music career. I knew in a heartbeat that was the path for me, and deferred from college almost immediately.”
Williams started to post videos on the social media platform TikTok without too much expectation, but to her surprise she got a private message December of 2022 from a NBC Talent agent from “The Voice,” inviting her to join in the upcoming season.
Williams said, “I thought it was a scam at first, I was like this cannot be real. I screamed and went to my parents room and told them, they freaked out. From that moment I just felt deep inside me that I was gonna be on the show.”
She continued, “I did a series of interviews, some audition videos, b-roll which is just footage of me and my life and then I was presented to an executive board. A few months after that I got a call that I was officially on the show.”
Williams said, “The Voice was the best experience of my life and it literally changed my life,” and although Williams was unfortunately eliminated in the battle rounds, she made it through the blinds, even being called a “prodigy” by Reba McEntire, which was a massive compliment in itself.
Williams at the time had chosen Niall Horan as her coach, which meant a lot to her as she grew up listening to his former band, One Direction. She describes working with Horan, as a full circle moment, “You know, I watched him on stage in the back of the arena in 2015, and then I was in front of him, literally doing the same thing he was doing on stage back then.”
Since being back home and her audition airing in October of 2023, Williams has kept busy pursuing a full time music career. She has been expanding her online audience and fanbase, gigging for local restaurants and businesses and working on a lead single.
When deciding what else was next, Williams knew it would be some time before she could release a completed album, and felt called to put on a concert of her own. This would be a step up from a gig, a complete show with a band, setlist/script, tickets and put on in a real venue. Williams also felt that she wanted it to be more than just a performance, and rather an interpersonal connection with her audience.
When debating on what to create, Williams thought about her life experiences, “All my life I’ve been a deep thinker, a deep feeler. And I truly believe that every single thing I have gone through has led me to the stage, and connecting with others on shared experiences through my music. Being raw and vulnerable, and not being afraid to be honest.”
Through this, and many prayers, came the realization and creation of the idea — Honestly. Williams explained this as being “the preface before you really open up, before you spill your guts. It’s what you say right before you tell someone something personal, like ‘Hey, honestly, I feel…’”
The concert, now titled Honestly: A Journey In Faith, was a show centered around the human trials and tribulations that many go through, and how Williams’s faith has guided her through those experiences. Through music, topics like bullying, grief, loss and heartbreak were artistically and beautifully explored and discussed. Honestly, took place on Friday, April 26 at 8 p.m., at the Sellersville Theater.