Philadelphia

‘I Feel at Home': Teen in NBC10 Homeless Youth Exclusive Chases Dream at ‘The Voice' Audition

Even though Angela Johnson didn’t make it to the next round of auditions for NBC’s ‘The Voice’ on Sunday, she was still smiling.

“There’s always next season,” Angela, a young mom and college student, said after she auditioned in the Pennsylvania Convention Center, but learned she would not make it through to the next round.

Hundreds of aspiring singers flocked to the Pennsylvania Convention Center this weekend to try their hand at a spot on NBC’s ‘The Voice’ — and one contestant, a young woman with an incredible story, may be familiar to NBC10 viewers.

Wise beyond her 18 years, Angela knows a thing or two about letting things roll off her back. The stint she spent homeless with her 4-year-old daughter after aging out of foster care last spring when she turned 18 taught her that.

She and her daughter, Nevaeh, were profiled as part of NBC10’s Faces of Homeless Youth, a digital-exclusive report published and aired last year that explored the issue of youth homelessness in Philadelphia. Angela and Nevaeh spent several months living at the Covenant House, Philadelphia’s only crisis shelter for 18- to 21-year-olds, until she got back on her feet and found an apartment in September.

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NBC10/Vince Lattanzio
Angela, pictured with daughter Nevaeh, made it to the second round of American Idol auditions this summer.

Angela, who made it to the second round of American Idol over the summer when auditions where held in Philadelphia, has wanted to be a singer since she was a little girl and would use the table at her mother’s house as a stage. So when NBC’s ‘The Voice’ announced auditions in Philly for this weekend, she was eager to register for her shot at fame.

“It means the world to me,” the young woman told NBC10 as she waited in Hall G for her group to be called for their 30 seconds of face time with the judges. “I’ve always dreamed of becoming a singer, since I was young.”

Angela, who attends Cabrini College, sang “All I Ask” by Adele for her audition. A crowd of other ‘Voice’ hopefuls erupted into cheers and applause after she sang part of it, warming her voice up ahead of the audition.

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NBC10/Vince Lattanzio
Nevaeh, 4, starts preschool this fall. Angela is studying business.

The young woman could barely contain her excitement at the applause. And even though she didn’t make it through this time around, she said she’s going to keep working at her dream.

“I feel like this is where I belong,” she said. “I feel at home.”

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