Four chairs turn within ten seconds of each other. Four music megastars vie for one former Ouachita student to be on their team.
The last act of the season 9 premiere of the Voice, Barrett Baber sang a version of “Angel Eyes” by the Jeff Healey band that enthralled judges Adam Levine and Blake Shelton.
“I feel like I’m watching Garth Brooks in concert right now,” Shelton said.
“I can tell by your vocals that you love all styles and that’s why you’re one of my favorites, my favorites, Barrett,” Levine said.
The son of a Southern Baptist preacher in Arkansas, Baber was saturated in church music from an early age. He sang in his high school choir and at church, but it wasn’t until he came to Ouachita’s campus in 1998 that he began to fully develop his passion.
“Really when I got to Ouachita is when my journey began as a songwriter and as a performer,” Baber said. “That’s where I really learned how to sing and how to control my voice.”
Baber received a vocal scholarship and earned a spot on the Ouachita Singers his freshman year, a rarity.
He enjoyed learning and growing with his teammates under the guidance of Dr. Charles Fuller in the music department, but he didn’t know how much he would need them until a tragic close call.
In 1999, on a flight home from a Singers tour, Baber’s plane skidded and crashed on the runway. Twenty-three of the 25 in Ouachita’s group survived, and he attributes much of his emotional healing to music and his friendship with the other survivors.
“There have been a lot of occasions in my life in which music really saved me,” Baber said. “I wasn’t going to let that one day define the rest of my life, and I think a lot of that has to do with music and certainly the music that I was making with Dr. Fuller and the Ouachita Singers. More importantly, the relationships that were forged in that moment with those other people still exist today.”
After studying four years at OBU, Baber decided to pursue a contact he had in Nashville and stayed there for a year apprenticing under him. In that time, he even auditioned for season 2 of American Idol and made it to the top 48. He then returned to Arkansas to finish his undergraduate career at UCA with a degree in communications.
From there, Baber worked a few years at a radio station in Little Rock and then a TV station in Northwest Arkansas selling advertisements. Meanwhile, Baber was cultivating his music career: writing songs, making records and performing at various venues.
“It gave me a really solid work ethic and really taught me how to do marketing… which became super valuable to me in marketing myself as an artist and branding myself as an artist,” Baber said of his advertising experience.
He then earned his teaching license and took a job at Fayetteville High School as the debate and forensics coach. Baber always had a full schedule balancing his family, work and music life.
It was worth it, though, when a friend who had made it to the top eight on season 7 of the Voice offered to submit a clip of Baber to the casting director. Baber hadn’t originally planned to go the reality singing show route, but when the casting director invited him to a private audition, it was an opportunity he couldn’t turn down.
After the preliminary process, Baber began deciding what song he would perform for the blind audition. He devoted serious thought to his song choice. Baber’s fresh style consisted of country and soul, and he was deliberate with how he arranged “Angel Eyes.”
“For me, this is a huge branding opportunity,” Baber said. “I had a distinct plan for how I wanted to perform it, how I wanted it to sound, what instruments we used in it.”
Baber said his audition on the Voice came at the opportune time in his life. He felt prepared for it because of all the years he’d spent performing and songwriting. And the praise from the judges affirmed the effort he had invested in his skill.
“Not only is it a humbling experience, more than anything it’s a validation of a lot of years of grinding away and honing a craft,” Baber said.
Despite the pleading from pop icon Adam Levine, Baber chose country star Blake Shelton as his coach.
“I definitely would like to work with a guy who’s a monster in the industry I’m trying to break into,” Barrett said. “It makes total sense for me to work with someone on the show that is making the kind of music I want to make.”
The next phase for Baber is the Battle Round, where Shelton will pair him with another member from their team. There, Baber and his opponent will perform a dueling duet, and Shelton will choose the winner. The loser of the battle round will go home unless another team’s coach steals them.
Music is not just a hobby or side interest for Baber. He hopes that even if he does not ultimately win The Voice, he can take what he’s learned and grow as a musician.
“My goal is to get better and to be better at what I do at the end of this process,” Baber said. “I’m actually trying to be an artist for the rest of my life and a songwriter for the rest of my life and provide for my family that way.”
By his side through this entire process, Baber’s wife, Sarah—along with their two tots, Brooks and Elliott—has been a constant source of encouragement.
“I’m really fortunate to be married to a person that is super supportive of this dream, and has been from day one,” Baber said.
Baber also extended gratitude to his home state for their confidence in him.
“That’s as humbling as anything you can experience as an artist, to know that there are lots of people—hundreds of thousands of people—that are pulling for you,” Baber said.
Finally, Baber reflected on the influence that Ouachita—and folks like Dr. Fuller in the music department—had on his life and character.
“I wouldn’t be who I am as an adult, and as a father, and as a husband, and just as a person…if it wasn’t for the time that I spent at Ouachita,” Baber said.
