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Coming in 4th on 'The Voice' doesn't faze this 14-year-old Florissant girl

St. Louis Public Radio | By Wayne Pratt,
Marissanne Lewis-Thompson, Marissanne Lewis-Thompson
Published December 24, 2018 at 4:12 PM CST
Kennedy Holmes performed a cover of the song "Confident" in the live finale of "The Voice" on Monday night.
Tyler Golden | NBC
Kennedy Holmes performed a cover of the song "Confident" in the live finale of "The Voice" on Monday night.

For her fans in St. Louis, it was a tragedy that Kennedy Holmes did not win "The Voice" last week. But for the 14-year-old singer, she said she feels like she still won big.

After all, Holmes got to learn from the best, including Mariah Carey, Kelly Rowland, Blake Shelton and Jennifer Hudson, who was her coach for the nationally televised singing competition.

St. Louis Public Radio’s Marissanne Lewis-Thompson spoke with Kennedy Holmes about her time on the Voice.

 

"Working with Jennifer was an easier connection because she's been through this whole process," Holmes told St. Louis Public Radio. "She started in competition and she didn't even win. I feel like that's something that we have in common that shows that even if you don't win a voice compeition that you're doing you can still come out and do big things like she did."

The teenager was already a veteran performer before trying out for the show. She came up through training programs for kids and teens at The Muny in St. Louis.

Holmes told St. Louis on the Air Host Don Marsh in Octoberthat she developed a love for performing in the third grade.

“I sang 'I Am Changing,' by Jennifer Hudson. And I knew like the feeling I felt on stage — everyone's cheering me on — I knew at that moment, you know, I had a passion for singing.”

She added that getting to know Hudson, a Grammy-and-Oscar-winning actress and singer, was one of the highlights of being on the show.

“I met Jennifer Hudson. I hugged Jennifer Hudson. She said I was a gem. OK, Kennedy, this actually happened.”

Although Holmes said her favorite performance of the competition was singing "Confidence," the John Burroughs Middle School student said singing a duet on national television with her idol on the final night of the show was an amazing experience as well.

Follow Wayne Pratt on Twitter: @WayneRadio

Follow Marissanne Lewis Thompson on Twitter:  @Marissanne2011

Copyright 2021 St. Louis Public Radio. To see more, visit St. Louis Public Radio.

Missouri News
Wayne Pratt
Wayne Pratt is a veteran journalist who has made stops at radio stations, wire services and websites throughout North America. He comes to St. Louis Public Radio from Indianapolis, where he was assistant managing editor at Inside Indiana Business. Wayne also launched a local news operation at NPR member station WBAA in West Lafayette, Indiana, and spent time as a correspondent for a network of more than 800 stations. His career has included positions in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Toronto, Ontario and Phoenix, Arizona. Wayne grew up near Ottawa, Ontario and moved to the United States in the mid-90s on a dare. Soon after, he met his wife and has been in the U.S. ever since.
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Marissanne Lewis-Thompson
Marissanne Lewis-Thompson joined the KRCU team in November 2015 as a feature reporter. She was born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri where she grew up watching a lot documentaries on PBS, which inspired her to tell stories. In May 2015, she graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in Convergence Journalism. Marissanne comes to KRCU from KBIA, where she worked as a reporter, producer and supervising editor while covering stories on arts and culture, education and diversity.
See stories by Marissanne Lewis-Thompson
Marissanne Lewis-Thompson
Marissanne Lewis-Thompson joined St. Louis Public Radio October 2017 as the afternoon newscaster and as a general assignment reporter. She previously spent time as a feature reporter at KRCU in Cape Girardeau, where she covered a wide variety of stories including historic floods, the Bootheel, education and homelessness. In May 2015, she graduated from the University of Missouri with a Bachelor of Journalism degree in Convergence Journalism. She's a proud Kansas City, Missouri native, where she grew up watching a ton of documentaries on PBS, which inspired her to tell stories. In her free time, she enjoys binge watching documentaries and anime. She may or may not have a problem.