NBC’s “The Voice” is in its 14th season. This year, one of the participants standing out is 24-year-old Sharane Calister from Des Moines, Iowa. She has given some breathtaking performances and isn’t showing any signs of slowing down.
Calister began the season with Ed Sheeran’s “Make It Rain” in the blind auditions. Alicia Keys remarked, “Whatever your journey has been, it has absolutely led you to be able to share that type of performance.” Calister explained, “I am adopted; me and my twin sister got separated. I wasn’t able to grow up with my family. I wasn’t able to grow up with a mom or a dad. I wasn’t actually able to see my twin sister and be with her until the age of 18, so I just put all of that pain into my music.”
As a result of Sharane’s parents’ battle with addiction and her grandma’s illness, the twins were separated at age 10. Sharane was adopted by an older cousin, but her twin, Tai’ron Perry, was adopted by a different family. Calister’s adoptive mother was diagnosed with breast cancer, a fight she is still struggling with today. Music served as a comfort and a constant for Sharane. She played the violin as a child and took up gospel singing in high school. After 5 years apart from her sister she was shocked to find her sitting across from her in a gospel choir class. “I was pretty happy that we were able to experience music together again,” she said.
Its clear Sharane still uses music to express her emotional past. With songs such as “All I Could Do Was Cry,” “Never Enough,” and “In My Blood,” the audience has been experiencing her journey. Calister’s most recent performance was Mariah Carey’s “Hero,” a song she dedicated to her sister. Watching them together now, you’d never know they’d ever been apart.
The Voice airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 PM on NBC.
