Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1123465
44 • THE ARTISAN SPRING 2019 1,600 people in our chairs!! Now looking back, that's a whole lot of hair! The blind auditions are where we first meet the artists. We ask them to come camera-ready to keep them as they normally are. We polish them up for camera and this shoots over three to four days of continuity. Yes, continuity on 100 people! At the end of blind auditions, we end up with a total of 48 singers. All four coaches get 12 artists per team. We go from 100 to 48 just like that. Then it's battle time with the 48 artists! I request the singers start making Pinterest boards of hair styles they like. This is a great way to get to know someone and help them become the artist they want to be. Here is where we get to start to elevate the looks, adding some hair extensions, hair jewels or accessories, braiding, twists, crimps or whatever inspires everyone. Every look depends on the song choice, wardrobe and who they are singing with. We never want them to have the same hair style as their battle partner. There are times we find out which side is camera, and design the hair style for camera. The last three years, barbering has become quite the art. The same holds true for our men or short-haired women with shaved sides or backs. We never want to go all-out and then have nowhere to go from there. Having a plan of how we want the hair to grow or be cut for the future is a great way to transform the individual into a star. Most importantly, along the way, we like to teach them tips and tricks so they can leave our show with an education of how to style their own hair. After the battles, we now have 32 artists heading into the knockout rounds, or this season called the "Battle Crossovers." This was a challenge to get 32 singers camera- ready for a live show, two weeks in row! We normally shoot this taped and edited for air. As the weeks go by, we go down to 24, then 13, then eight and then top four. Even though we are losing singers, the creative for each performance is getting bigger, sometimes adding many dancers, strings, choir or band members. The live shows are what we live for! Hair stylists always come on our show and thank us for the opportunity to be creative and try new things they have been practicing. I like to let the creative juices flow during this time. We all learn so much from each other and share information to boost each other up to the next level. This show is not for the weak; it's fast paced, challenging, creative and pushes you to the next level. We work hard and every night, we go home thinking, "That was amazing, and I'm so grateful for the opportunity to work on this show." I'm incredibly proud that all this hard work has paid off with six Emmy nominations, one MUAHS Guild Award win and three Guild nominations. Thank you to our producers. They are top-notch and exceed any production team I have ever worked with. Thank you to our make-up team and wardrobe team. We all make it come together for the singers' journeys. It's an incredible experience season after season to be a part of so many people's journeys, including ours.•