Voices Behind "The Voice"

Devon Barley ’09 and Robynn Yip ’04 were both contestants on the hit reality TV shows The Voice and The Voice of China, respectively. Their stories tell us that there is much more than meets the eye when it comes to being on reality TV. 

Barley, who grew up in Mattapoisett, MA and attended Tabor as a day student, auditioned for the show on a whim during his sophomore year of college. He had already auditioned for the NBC show The Sing Off with his a capella group from the University of Vermont when his roommate decided to audition for The Voice in New York. Barley agreed to go for moral support without any intention of trying out, but a last-minute change of plans led to Barley taking his roommate’s place. After the audition, it was months before he got the call to go out to Los Angeles. 

“I think I was probably auditioning for at least a month behind the scenes before I was able to get in front of the judges, let alone selected,” says Barley. “If that’s not enough, you get up there and you don’t even know if they’re going to turn around.” 

“It was horrible,” he laughs. 

In the end, both Adam Levine and CeeLo Green turned their chairs around, and Barley chose Team Adam. Once he knew he was in, he took a semester off from school to focus on the competition. 

Robynn Yip shared that sentiment about the first audition.  

“It was probably the most nerve-wracking day of my life,” she says. 

Interestingly, Yip’s introduction to The Voice of China was a little different from Barley’s. As one half of the Hong Kong-based duo Robynn and Kendy, Yip had already garnered some musical success prior to entering the competition.  

She was working as a behavioral therapist for neurodivergent children and singing on the side, posting videos on YouTube, when one thing led to another. She and her musical partner ended up going viral and getting signed by Universal Music Hong Kong.  

The pair were already performing shows and dropping albums before their experience on The Voice of China. Yip pointed out that their success was localized in Hong Kong, so when they made it onto the show, she noticed a huge difference between the music scene in Hong Kong versus mainland China.  

Instead of attending open auditions like Barley, Yip and her partner were recruited for the show by talent scouts who had seen their videos online. While scouts had reached out to them previously for earlier seasons of The Voice of China, Yip and Kendy were hesitant. When the scouts resurfaced for season three, the pair decided to trust them and move forward. 

They, too, had to go through many rounds of auditions to get selected, go on stage, and wait for a coach’s chair to turn.  

“There are many steps to even getting aired. It’s not as straightforward as you see it on TV. It’s very much a more detailed, hectic process,” remembers Yip.  

Yip’s duo ended up earning three chair-turns, and decided to align with Yang Kun, a coach who had experience in their singer/songwriter music style.  

Both Yip and Barley look back on the experience with many emotions.  

“I went in with the mindset of ‘Let’s do something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life and be proud of for the rest of my life, no matter how it goes,’” says Yip.  

She remembers working around the clock, exhausted and with emotions always running high. During the second round, she waited up all night for her turn and ended up singing at 6:00 a.m. Producers wouldn’t let them sleep because it closes the vocal cords. The third round was that same day at 9:00 a.m.  

“It’s just such a crazy journey,” says Yip. 

Barley, who had performed in front of smaller crowds before entering the competition, recalls shaking in his boots every time he had to get on stage.  

 “When you blow it out to a couple million people, it really puts things into perspective,” he says. “I personally get very nervous singing. I always have.” He estimates he lost about 15 pounds due to stage fright while he was on the show. Still, he felt like it was important to push himself and sustain his love for singing.  

“It didn’t matter how many times I’d done it, I always felt like I was out of my comfort zone, which I knew was an opportunity for growth,” he reflects.  

Barley also mentions that on the other side of all the stress was the confidence that he was well-prepared, he wasn’t going to forget anything, and he knew what he was doing. “I didn’t have an option. I had to go up there and do my best, and I wanted to give people a performance that they would enjoy watching,” he notes.  

Despite the challenges, there were also many positives. Barley highlights his relationship with coach Adam Levine as one of the best parts of the experience. 

While Adam was more of a big-picture, for-the-camera presence in terms of coaching, Barley’s team did spend time with him in the off-camera moments. When the team was invited to lunch at his house in California, Adam gifted Barley his own vintage leather jacket, which is now framed in Barley’s house.  

“There definitely was a personalized touch,” he states. “I wouldn’t have traded that time and experience with him for the world.”  

Barley also felt that being nineteen was a huge advantage for him. While there was competition among teammates, Barley’s youth and naïveté about the music industry meant he was less aware of it.  

“I think in a lot of ways being that age was great because I just had the lens of optimism,” he says. “That lent itself to me being able to enjoy the experience more rather than thinking too hard about a future career.” 

For Barley, the show wasn’t make-or-break. While he thought it would be great if something cool came from it, he was halfway through college and wasn’t convinced that singing was meant to be his path forever. “I was able to live a little bit more in the moment in that way,” he adds. 

Yip, who was around 27 and already a professional musician when she auditioned, had a slightly different mindset about the show.  

“I wasn’t a stranger to cameras at that point because I was already an artist with a major label in Hong Kong, but it really did open my eyes to many more possibilities and to understanding that I had a lot to work on,” she reflects. “It’s very humbling because everyone was so talented.” 

Even though Yip already knew that her career would be in music, she and her partner didn’t let that get in the way of having a positive experience on the show. She remembers one of the high points was making friends in hotels and backstage during the hours of waiting before getting to sing and bonding with peers over their shared love of music. 

“I never thought that we were going to win because we’re not the typical type,” says Yip.  

She describes her duo as a singer/songwriter, girl-next-door, folksy vibe. They were unique in the sense that they weren’t just a powerful voice that would wow the crowd; Yip admits she was surprised that scouts even reached out to an act like them. 

“I was surprised from the get-go. I was in it for the ride and for the experience and to make friends. I was grateful that we actually got to sing three songs,” says Yip. “It’s not so much about how far you go, but just the experience itself.”

Robynn and Kendy made it through three rounds of the competition and were top eight in their team of sixteen.  

The goal of the show is to make it through eliminations to be the winner of your own team, and then to face off against the winners of the three other teams for victory.  

Barley made it to the quarterfinals, meaning he was one of the last sixteen singers in the competition and selected to perform on live TV. Going into the experience, he had no idea how well the show was going to do since it was the first season. It was a shock to him when people began recognizing him in the streets and asking for photos and autographs. 

He had two big takeaways from the experience that have stuck with him since then. First, you miss all the shots you don’t take, and second, don’t be afraid to have your voice heard in whatever it is that you do. 

“I would have never had that entire experience if I didn’t just take a chance,” says Barley. “It opened up my worldview to do something that I didn’t think was in the cards for me.” 

“I’ve carried that through my life now; saying yes to opportunities that arise,” he adds. 

Barley now owns his own chiropractic practice in Rhode Island and while music isn’t at the forefront of his life anymore, he says that it will always be an important part of who he is.  

Both of these singers note that they found their confidence while they were students at Tabor. 

Along with being a Madrigal singer, Barley and his friends formed a band called 22 Foot Drop. They successfully petitioned for the school to let them practice as a band as their after-school activity and regularly performed at school events. (You can read more about 22 Foot Drop, along with other Tabor bands, in "Band Together.")

“I never really tested my capacity before Tabor,” says Barley. “They bent the rules to accommodate this little band, this dream that we had, and by doing that allowed me to flourish and gain confidence.” 

“I credit Tabor for the extent of my musical journey because of the great support system and faculty,” he notes. “They understood how important it was to us, and that piece of it was invaluable.” 

Yip feels similarly. Her first solo performance ever was at All School, where she sang while a friend accompanied her on the piano. It was her first time singing in front of a crowd that large.  

“I don’t know where I mustered up that courage,” she says. “I was very lucky in the sense that I had such a great time at Tabor, and I felt very comfortable in my own skin.” 

Yip cited Mr. Horne as a huge supporter of her Tabor music career. From her first few weeks on campus, he helped her find her courage and encouraged a love for music that has lasted.  

“I’m thankful to Mr. Horne and to Tabor. Everything that stemmed from my Tabor experience helped with my entire music career,” she says. “It started my belief in myself that I could actually sing and that I could actually pursue music. Tabor has a special place in my heart.” 

Yip remained a professional musician for many years after she was on The Voice of China, and only recently ended her contract with Universal in 2020. She now fully embraces motherhood with her two daughters. She stays connected to music by writing and selling her songs to active artists commercially and releasing singles when she can.  

“Even if it’s not my voice behind the melodies,” she says, “to be able to contribute to the bigger picture and the culture of my hometown, it hits different and it really feels good.” 

“Because of music you’re a part of something bigger,” she adds. “I think that’s very beautiful.”

🔊 Want to hear more of Robynn's music? Follow @RobynnYipMusic and @RobynnAndKendy on YouTube.