Backstage at "The Voice" finale wasn't the first meeting between Mandeville finalist Karen Waldrup and fellow Louisiana country singer/superstar Lainey Wilson.
"I met her at the post office one day," Waldrup, who finished fifth in the NBC singing competition, said a week after the series' Season 25 wrapped on May 21.
That would be a Nashville, Tennessee, post office, as both artists relocated to Music City several years back to pursue entertainment.
Waldrup, 37, and Wilson, 32, knew of each other — Waldrup caught one of Wilson's shows, Wilson saw Waldrup perform at CMA Fest — but they didn't officially meet until that day at the P.O.
Wilson being a guest on the finale, where she performed her new single, "Hang Tight Honey," gave the singer/songwriters a chance to catch up.
Mandeville native Karen Waldrup listens to the judges' comments after her semi-final performance on NBC's 'The Voice' on May 13.
"I got to have a really good moment with her talking about Louisiana. I got to take a picture with her, but we can't find the picture. I think maybe her photographer has it," Waldrup said. "… I got to share with her that I really appreciated her letting me sing 'Heart Like a Truck' on 'The Voice.' That's her song she wrote. She could have easily said no, and she approved it for me.
"And she just made jokes about how, you know, there's a big huge note in it and she, every time she sings it, she kicks herself for recording it and she was just so funny."
Wilson also told the finalists that she had auditioned several times for "The Voice" but was never selected.
"And isn't that hilarious?" Waldrup said, laughing. "I hope to run into her (Wilson) again and maybe get to work with her one day. You never know."
'The Voice' experience
University of Southern Mississippi graduate Waldrup said she gave the show 100%.
"So I don't know that I really made a lot of mistakes along the way because I just was so focused to get to the finale," she said.
Advising the songstress through the weeks of competition were her coaches, singer-songwriter duo Dan + Shay.
"Dan (Smyers) and Shay (Mooney) were just so incredibly filled with knowledge. I think the biggest takeaway is about practicing. Before, just to be completely honest, I would be like, 'Oh yeah, that's cool. That's good enough.' You know? And now I'm like, rewind, repeat. Oops, I hit that chord wrong.
"They really helped drill in the importance of details in music and timing. A lot of really dorky music stuff like timing, tempo, pitch, ... just paying attention to the details of music and making it less about you, but more about what is best for the song."
Louisiana's Karen Waldrup performs Sugarland's 'Stay' on 'The Voice' on May 13.
Waldrup said she'll use those tools in her live show with her band and in the studio.
"I'm excited about taking the knowledge that I learned from them and going and applying it to what I do day in and day out," she said.
Dan + Shay also boosted her self-confidence.
"Saying 'You have this classic country sound,' 'You have one of those special voices,' stuff like that just gave me a lot of confidence to try soaring melodies and to try more risky parts," Waldrup said. "Just trying out different sounds and palettes and testing things out. I think Dan, specifically, and I have a lot in common when it comes to that. We really like the process of trying out things and seeing how they sound, you know?"
On the road again
Back at home, Waldrup was unpacking and doing laundry only to repack and prepare to resume touring.
"I gotta run all my songs because I was out in L.A. for a month and not playing these songs," she explained. "So now I'm going out on the road playing my original music. ... I'm getting outfits ready, just right back into it."
A plus: Anything Waldrup wore on "The Voice" stage, including that sparkly red gown on the finale, was provided by the show's wardrobe department and was hers to keep.
"So I got a whole new wardrobe," she added.
Waldrup's current tour includes three Louisiana stops:
- 8 p.m. Friday, The Parish at House of Blues, New Orleans
- 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Manship Theatre, Baton Rouge (7 p.m., VIP pre-party)
- 9:30 p.m. Saturday, June 29, Heritage Park, Slidell
Single on the way
Waldrup's new song, "Louisiana Hurricane," will be released July 3 by her independent label, Waldrup Worldwide.
"It's really fun and it's upbeat and it's exciting and it's got horns on it. I just really wanted to record something that was going to be representative of me and who I am and everything I've built before the show and also during the show," she said. "We felt like this one's really good."
Waldrup said her main goal, whether it's a song she writes herself or one written for her, is really looking for great music.
"Like 'I Hope You Dance' (the 2000 hit for Lee Ann Womack). Tia Sillers, the writer of that song (along with Mark D. Sanders) wants to write with me. That's a song that changes people's lives," she said.
"I'd like for God to send me something like that, that would really be an impactful song for my career. That's my prayer."