For as long as I could remember I wanted to be a musician. My parents have videos of me singing as little as two years old. I learned to play the guitar at ten years old. And I haven't stopped playing it for the last twenty years.
After graduating high school, I moved to Nashville. Being from a small town in Oklahoma, Nashville was a big change for me but I quickly found myself fitting in with the local music scene and thought I was making big strides towards my dream. Unfortunately, that all came crashing down two years later when every single record label turned me down, most citing my young age and lack of experience.
Needing a change of pace and a chance to learn more about my craft, I packed up my car and moved to Los Angeles. I called that city home for about two years before hitting the road and, really, not settling down around at all.
For the past eight years, I've traveled the country, even going up into Canada and a few trips to Europe, playing shows and making music. I like to think I've become fairly well-known. My last self-recorded and produced EP, titled "Emotions of a Guitar Player," sold about 20,000 records. While I mainly opened for other singers or played at festivals and local county fairs, I could also sell out a 2,000 seat arena in the right city.
But, I was getting tired. While I had experienced growth over the years, I felt like I was stuck and would never reach the level I had once dreamed of. As I turned thirty years old, I promised I would give myself one more year before I moved back to Oklahoma, got a job working with my dad, and only played music on the weekends.
One of the things I had promised myself I would never do but finally gave in to, was trying out for a reality show. I always wanted to do it the "real" way. But, since this was my final year, I decided I had to go for it. I sent in audition tapes for American Idol, America's Got Talent, and The Voice.
I never heard from American Idol. AGT pretty much told me that my story wasn't sad enough, in not so many words. But, The Voice invited me out for a taping.
I almost declined it. I was on the road and the days they wanted me to be available in LA, I would have to fly across the country and cancel one of my shows. My mom convinced me to do it. I felt bad canceling the show, but promised I would make it up.
I waited two days sitting backstage at the TV studio where the blind auditions where held. If you've never seen The Voice, you sing blindly for four different "coaches," who are all musicians themselves, who can press a button and turn around if they like the way you sound. It's supposed to make it so that the show is more about the music and not how much what you look like or what your story is.
Past winners include Cassadee Pope and a bunch of other names you wouldn't recognize. Honestly, I was just hoping to get some more recognition from it, more so then I was winning it.
When my name was finally called, I grabbed my guitar, and walked onto the stage. There were about two hundred people in the audience who politely cheered. I looked at the four chairs in front of me, each with the name of the coach sitting in front of it. That season the coaches were Adam Levine, one of the original coaches from when the showed first premieres, Kelsea Ballerini in her first season, Michael Bublé in his second, and John Legend, who had done quite a few seasons.
My musical style was a mix of country, easy listening, and smooth rock. If I had my pick, Adam Levine would be my coach.
I probably forgot to mention, if more then one coach turned for you, they fought for you, and you got to pick what team you were on.
I nodded to the band to let them know I was ready and the opening cords of "I Want to Know What Love Is" by Foreigner started to play.
I was surprised when as soon as I started to sing the opening line, John Legend turned. When I reached the chorus, Kelsea Bellerini, and Michael Bublé turned. I was immediately struck by just how beautiful Kelsea was. Also, Michael looked star struck, which made me laugh.
The song ended and I had the biggest smile on my face. I rubbed my face in disbelief. All the record labels over the years that had turned me down and here I had three of the biggest recording artists turning around for me and wanting to work with me.
Adam Levine, the one coach I wanted to work with and the only one not to turn, spoke first as was custom on the show. "My good man, what is your name and where are you from?" He asked me as the cheers from the audience died down.
"My name is Gunnar Hooper, I'm thirty years old and I'm from Guthrie, Oklahoma," I told them as I slung my guitar behind my back.
"Wow," said Michael. "You don't sound like you're from Oklahoma. Your music style is a lot more rocky I feel. Is that where you want to be at?"
"I like to think that my music is a unique blend of rock and country. I actually lived in Nashville for two years before moving to LA. And I've spent the last eight years just out on the road, playing and making music," I said.
"Yeah, I definitely could hear that as you played. You seem like you have a very seasoned stage presence. How many shows do you play every year?" John Legend asked me.
"Oh, easily over two hundred for at least the last seven years," I said.
"Wow," all three judges said.
"So, have you had a deal before?" Bublé asked me.
Even though he asked the question, I couldn't help but look at Kelsea Ballerini as I answered, wondering why she hadn't said anything yet. "I have not had one. I've had a few reach out and talked to plenty but always get turned away for one reason or another. Actually, before I came on this season, I told myself this would be my last year doing music full time and if I didn't get a deal, I would move back home and move on with life."
"I'm really glad you didn't, Gunnar. Your voice is so beautiful and stunning to hear," Kelsea finally said. "I don't know how much more you want to go down the country route, but I would love to work with you and have you on my team."
I spent a few more minutes with the coaches giving me their sales pitch until Adam finally asked who I would be picking as my coach.
I looked at all three coaches as the crowd started shouting out who they wanted me to pick. Inside, I knew I should pick Bublé or Legend. But, I took one look at Kelsea's beautiful green eyes and said, "My heart has always been set in doing country music so I choose Kelsea."
"Oh my God!" Kelsea yelled as she jumped out of her chair and ran up the stage to give me a hug. As I wrapped my arm around her, I felt my heart beating in my chest, both from the excitement of making the show and from how pretty she was. She handed me a hat with "Team Kelsea" on it that she was giving to everybody on her team before turning to gloat at the other coaches and I was called off the stage by the producers.
Backstage, I was given a bunch of paperwork to sign, including NDAs saying I wouldn't talk about the show, the auditions, rather I made it or not, and a bunch of other rules I had to follow. I signed everything and was told that the producers would be in touch with me about dates for the next set of shows, which wouldn't take place until the spring of 2025, six months from the blind audition I just had.
I didn't expect to hear from Kelsea until the live shows but was surprised when she sent me a message on Instagram a few months after the audition. The message read, "Hey Gunnar, just wanted to tell you how excited I am to be your coach! I've been listening to your music and I still can't believe you're not already signed!"
"Thanks Kelsea. I wish I was, believe me. Super excited to work with you too! Can it be spring already?" I responded back, kind of in shock that I was talking to Kelsea Ballerini.
Over four months leading up to the live shows, Kelsea and I kept up a steady stream of conversation on Instagram, despite her being busy releasing a new album and touring to support that album. The producers of the show reached out to me in early February to let me know the filming dates and when I needed to be back in Los Angeles for the shows. The next round of the competition was called the battle rounds, where the coaches would pit two of their singers against each other to see who they liked more. Basically, Kelsea would have me sing with somebody else a song of her choosing and she would decide what one to keep on her team. The other coaches would have one steal each, meaning they could keep one person in the competition who was being let go by their coach, so I could still stay on the show even if Kelsea didn't choose me.
In preparation for it, Kelsea let me know what song she was picking for me and who I would be up against. She also let me know that me and the other singer would be meeting with her twice to go over the song and what she wanted to see and hear.
The day of our first meeting came and I went to a recording studio that had been set up for us. This session wasn't being recorded for the show, so we were all kind of dressed down and not playing for the camera. Me and the singer I had been paired up against, a southern rocker named Tyler Ambrose, who was a few years younger then me, each sung the song once for Kelsea by ourselves before she spilt up the song, giving us each parts to sing.
The song was "Sharp Dressed Man" by ZZ Top and I had sung it lots over the course of my career. It was obvious to me, and I think to Kelsea too, that I was much more familiar and comfortable singing it then Tyler was. I smiled to myself as I thought that I had this round in the bag.
The next day was an off day for me and I had managed to book a gig at a local bar in LA. I spent most of the day hanging around my hotel room before heading to the bar in the early evening. It was just going to be me and my guitar and I was excited to play that night. Shortly before the show started, I got a message from Kelsea that said, "Hey, I saw that you're playing a show tonight?"
I had a moment of panic as I tried to remember if that was against the rules of the show. I didn't feel like it was so I said, "Yeah, I am. Figured since I was in town, I could play one of my favorite spots."
"Nice. I'm on my way. I'll try to remain inconspicuous so I won't draw any attention from you," her next message read.
Shit, Kelsea Ballerini is coming to my show? My heart immediately started racing and I went to make sure everything was just perfect.
When I walked on the stage that night, I tried to find her out in the crowd but couldn't make out her face. I'm sure she was well hidden, if not surrounded by a bunch of people. I went about playing my set list, mostly my original song but mixing in some covers.
My episode of The Voice with my blind audition had played the week before and I had been using it to help promote this gig on my Instagram page, bringing in a few more fans then I normally had, which made for a much more exciting show for me. But, I did finally find Kelsea, just as I finished singing the song she had chosen for me, "Sharp Dressed Man."
