Drag queen wows “The Voice” celebrity judges
Chris Weaver, who is also known as drag performer Nedra Belle, wowed the celebrity judges on NBC’s The Voice Monday evening. Weaver performed as himself, not as his drag persona, on the show in a “blind audition”. He sung Otis Redding’s Try a Little Tenderness.
” All four judges turned their chairs around for Weaver quickly and the back-and-forth between them as they cajoled the singer to pick them as mentors got fierce with Jennifer Hudson throwing a shoe as a sign of respect. When he reveals that he’s a gospel singer and a drag queen, all four judges went nuts,” according to LGBTQNation.com.
As for the shoe throwing, Weaver said in the African-American church, getting a shoe thrown at you is a sign of high respect.
For those not familiar with The Voice, a blind audition means that the judges have their backs to the performer, so all they can judge is the music. If a judge likes the performance, they turn their chair around. This shows that they want to be a coach for the contestant and have the performer join their team.
The contestant gets to choose which team to join and the coach they want from those who turn their chairs. Last night, all four judges turned to face Weaver. The celebrity judges are Miley Cyrus, Adam Levine, Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson. He chose Hudson to be his coach and to be on her team.
Weaver lived in Des Moines, Iowa, for several years, where he was a worship coordinator for a Lutheran church. The home-town newspaper, the Des Moines Register wrote a glowing review of his performance.
Weaver was born on Long Island, and now lives and performs in New York City. He told the Register that his mother is a Pentecostal preacher, and that the church is very important to him.
"’Church is still a huge part of my life, but growing up gay in the church, I felt like I was hiding who I really was,’ Weaver said. ‘The church I am in now is totally accepting’," the Registerreported.
“A native of Long Island who now lives in New York City, Weaver also spoke about taking the stage as Nedra Belle, his drag persona. He said he enjoys transforming into this ‘gorgeous sassy woman’ who hosts, lip-syncs and sings live when she is on stage.”
“For someone who so rarely appears as himself, Weaver's blind audition experience was all the validation that he needed to know that the world is ready to see ‘who Chris really is’,” the Registerconcluded.
We have a feeling that this is not the last we have heard of Chris Weaver.
Copyright The Gayly – September 26, 2017 @ 5:20 p.m. CDT.