From Texas State to Hollywood Hills, Grimes’ talent resonates with ‘Voice’
By Catherine Harper
Texas State alumnus and country singer Curtis Grimes got his start on NBC's "The Voice."
Texas State University alumnus Curtis Grimes could not have imagined that one call would change his life in January 2011. After auditioning earlier that month for NBC’s “The Voice” — a singing competition moderated by celebrity judges — Grimes’ country stylings hit the mark with producers and he was on his way to stardom.
“They reached out to me at first with an e-mail saying they’d like me to audition after they’d seen some of my shows on YouTube,” Grimes says. “The whole experience was awesome.”
After flying to Hollywood, Grimes worked with music coach Cee Lo Green each week of auditions, making it to the quarter-finals on the show. His success with the singing competition has awarded him national exposure, with his new album Doin’ My Time hitting the Top Texas 15 and his new single “Irresponsible” on airwaves last month.
Before his singing success, Grimes was immersed not in music but in baseball as a pitcher at Centenary College in Shreveport, La. After transferring to Texas State in 2005, however, Grimes struck a chord with the music scene in San Marcos.
“Texas State definitely influenced me music-wise, since the country scene is so strong down there,” Grimes says, speaking from his tour stop in West Texas. “It’s kind of a central hub of country music. There were artists like Randy Rogers and Ryan Turner coming from there, so it’s where I found a lot of my influences.”
