Before he became famous for his voice this year, Javier Colon relied on another body part to guide him: his gut.
“‘The Voice’ came along and I almost didn’t do that,” he says. “It was kind of a last-minute decision to audition.”
Colon, 33, was crowned the first winner of the NBC talent competition in June and learned to continue following that instinct. His audition performance of “Time After Time” became an instant highlight of the show’s freshman season.
“I just wanted somebody to turn around. I would have been happy with any of them,” he says. “If I had the option to choose from several coaches, I wanted to go on a gut feeling.”
Colon impressed all four celebrity mentors, most notably, his choice, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine.
“I really wanted to go with someone who thought I’d be an asset to their team, and Adam was so animated and enthusiastic. He just made it very clear he wanted me.”
Before the show, Colon released two albums with Capitol Records before being dropped in 2006. His previous work was more R&B based, and he hopes to do music he’s more passionate about, with a pop singer-songwriter feel, like James Taylor.
“I try to write songs that move people emotionally as opposed to just physically. I like to tell stories,” he says.
He plans to have an album out in November, to keep himself fresh in the public’s mind. Until then, he will tour with seven other contestants to perform songs from the competition. New material, which could include collaborations with Levine and fellow coach Cee-Lo Green, will wait for personal shows — but Colon is still excited.
“I’m going to try to write some good songs,” he says. “Which will hopefully cross over to whatever genre.”
In the Nicks of time
Colon has already won the respect of established artists, including Pat Monahan of Train, Miranda Lambert and Justin Bieber. Most notably, Stevie Nicks, who Colon sang “Landslide” with on the show’s finale, invited him to sing it on her tour if he’s in town. “I’m on a quest to get to where she is to do that,” he says.
