This former Tri-Cities singer just wowed Kelly Clarkson on ‘The Voice’

A Kennewick native brought judge Kelly Clarkson to her feet on NBC’s The Voice on Monday night.

Seattle singer Halley Greg put a spin to Nelly Furtado’s “I’m Like a Bird” — bringing loud cheers from the audience and immediately gaining a spot on “Team Kelly.”

The 29-year-old Seattle artist and former teacher is really 2009 Kennewick High valedictorian, Katie Krupin. Halley Greg is her stage name she started using while she still was in the classroom.

“My songs were slightly suggestive and on the sassy side,” Greg explained Tuesday. “I wanted to keep students in the dark and maintain artistic freedom.”

Greg said that even before the pandemic hit, she decided to resign as a teacher at the end of the school year and focus her energy on her music of writing and arranging songs.

It was during the coronavirus shutdown she got the call to audition for “The Voice” and earned her spot to compete.

“From a musical standpoint I think she outdid herself,” said her father, Paul Krupin, an outdoors columnist for the Herald.

The judges were just as impressed.

“Your voice is so pure and so intimate and so beautiful,” Clarkson told Greg after her performance.

On “The Voice,” judges listen to performers with their backs turned. To advance in the competition, at least one judge must turn around to claim the singer for their team — and there is no guarantee that will happen.

“I’m honored that she turned so early for me when I hadn’t done anything interesting and fancy with my voice,” Greg said in a phone interview Tuesday. “That felt like a really wonderful and special acknowledgment.”

Love of performing

After graduating high school, Greg went to the University of Washington and earned bachelor’s degrees in biology and psychology. She became a science teacher after earning a master’s in education from Arizona State University.

It’s while teaching in Everett that she began performing with rock bands in Seattle. She was performing five to six nights a week while still having to balance her teaching job — and didn’t want the two to compete.

She took the time to create her first solo project, releasing her first album “American Harlot” on Spotify last September.

“I’m actually stunned by what she accomplished here,” said Paul Krupin. “Her lyrics strike chords with all sorts of people emotionally. The music behind her is impressive, and her voice, well, at times it may bring tears to your eyes.”

Krupin and Greg say that her path to becoming a full-time performer started when she was a child surrounded by talent in Tri-Cities.

Her older sister, Janet Krupin, also was drawn to performing at a young age. She graduated from Kennewick High School in 2006 and was the winner of Next Great Stage Star competition in 2010.

Greg said that she was along for the ride but it took an organic path into becoming her passion as well. She was a baby Munchkin in “The Wizard of Oz” when she was 4. And she played Rizzo in “Grease” and performed with the Richland Light Opera, as well as with the Academy of Children’s Theatre.

“I went along with my sister but am extremely grateful for the things I learned,” she said. “So many of the skills I am using now.”

This story was originally published March 9, 2021 at 9:34 AM.