Who is Michelle Brooks-Thompson is what many viewers are probably asking after that powerful national anthem performance. They're also probably wondering where they can hear more of the artist. The Voice finalist put on a moving performance of "The Star Spangled Banner" for the NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament game between the No. 1 South Carolina Gamecocks and the No. 1 Iowa Hawkeyes.
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Brooks-Thompson's vocals were powerful as ever and moved audiences. Several people took to the comment board to praise the singer. One wrote, "Michelle Brooks Thompson was AMAZING!!! I had to look her up! its sad that they did not show her physically performing! I hope she goes viral because she bodied the national anthem!!!"
Another commented, "The thoughtfulness and consideration exchanged here are commendable, fostering a safe space for expression."
Yet another wrote, "This was so amazing. Just spent 25min trying to find her name."
Meet Michelle Brooks-Thompson Who Starred on 'The Voice'
What viewers may not have realized is that Brooks-Thompson once competed on The Voice. She wowed audiences during Season 3 of the competition with a blind audition of "Proud Mary." Brooks-Thompson selected Adam Levine as her coach. She spoke with MassLive back then about the experience.
"I'm just taking it as it comes. This wasn't something I planned to do or wanted to do. I was asked, 'Did I want to audition,' and if I did I had a private audition set up for the show, and I just kind of went with it ... One of the things I really believe is if something is meant to be for you it will be for you at the right time," Brooks-Thompson said.
Although ultimately she didn't win the competition, it gave Brooks-Thompson further exposure for her career. She also got the chance to appear on national television. Since then, she wrote a book and appeared in several gospel-inspired productions. She also once described her own musical hero.
"Whitney Houston was my absolute favorite singer, and part of me wanted to be just like her, with her talent and her success, and so I started doing competitions when I was 10 years old," Brooks-Thompson said. "My first song was a Whitney Houston song, 'I Will Always Love You,' and I won. I knew then that people responded, and how my voice came through at 10, even being so young, I knew it was something I wanted to do and love doing and I knew I was meant to do that at some point in my life."
