By Tyler Wright
A young talent hailing from the foothills of the Dandenong Ranges has had her musical prowess showcased on the national stage.
Maddie ‘Maz’ Green, 26, wowed the judges in the blind audition stage of this year’s season of The Voice in an episode that aired on Monday 14 August.
Stars Jessica Mauboy and Guy Sebastian both pressed the red button to fight for the chance to mentor Maddie, who hails from The Basin, after her chilling rendition of Rosa Linn’s ‘Snap’.
“You have a very unique vocal which I’ve never heard before, and that really excites me,” Jess said.
“In my team, I have really big voices and soul singers; you have something else.
“You just have happy… happiness in your voice”
“Jess really nailed it when she talked about the joy and fun in your performance and in your voice, and the uniqueness of your voice and the storytelling ability,” Guy added.
“I really hear almost an acoustic electronic world where its quirky, the production is fun but it’s creative.”
Maddie, a disability support worker, said she felt “really nervous” before the audition and did not think she would have been able to get on stage and sing.
“It’s almost that anticipation beforehand; but once you get out on stage and you sing through a couple of notes, you’re in the element and everything fades away and it feels like it’s just you there anyway,” she said.
Maddie said she “never thought” she would have the confidence to audition for a singing show, but took the opportunity when a show producer reached out to her.
“I just thought ‘I may as well just give it a go and see what happens, even if I don’t feel like I’m ready for it.’
“You’re never really going to be ready for it anyway, so I just jumped in and went for it.”
Maddie decided to choose Guy as her mentor to take her through the competition; up against other musicians led by Rita Ora, Jason Derulo and Mauboy.
“The music that I make is more acoustic, and I felt like [Guy] was on the same wavelength as me in terms of what music I wanted to do,” Maddie said.
“Randomly, a few days beforehand, I was listening to the radio and I heard ‘Snap’ by Rosa Linn play, and then the next song after that was a Guy Sebastian song.
“I saw that as sign in a weird way; I was like, ‘if Guy turns, like maybe I should choose him.'”
Maddie’s partner Ryan, and her Aunty, Jacqui, were both there to support her from the sidelines while she performed.
“Having their support from the side of the stage, and just in general, meant a whole lot to me,” Maddie said.
“I honestly don’t think I would have been able to do it without their support and then cheering me along on the sidelines.”
Originally a ‘bedroom singer,’ as she referred to it, the young girl from the Hills grew up with parents that were musicians, which exposed her to “the power and magic of vocal expression,” Maddie said.
“For a while growing up I was just a bedroom singer and I did busking and made my own demos in my bedroom,” she said.
Maddie attended the local St Bernadette’s Primary School and then Box Hill Senior Secondary to study jazz, while performing in a school band.
But it was winning a CD recording competition at The Basin Music Festival that kicked off a music career for a then 17-year-old Maddie.
“I thought, ‘oh, maybe this music thing could be something that I could pursue,” she said.
In 2019, Maddie released her debut single ‘Somewhere Else,’ which gained the attention of Triple J and launched her into the indie-pop music scene.
“I never really thought that I was a perfect singer, but I just knew that when I sang it came from something big within myself,” she said.
“I never really know what was going to come out; it’s an out of body experience, getting lost within the music.”
In 2022, Maddie returned to her home town to perform at The Basin Music Festival.
“That definitely really shaped my creativity, and I always liked to tweak things and make them more interesting or more unique to me as well.”
Now living on Victoria’s surf coast in Barwon Heads, Maddie is currently travelling around Europe, with the aim of becoming more inspired by the world around her.
“I’m just excited for The Voice to expand
“I think it’s really great to see, and there’s a heap of really amazing people on it.
“That’s the main thing that I really cherish and I’m so grateful for from the whole experience is definitely the people… there’s so many amazing lifelong friends that I’ve made and such a beautiful community as well.”
You can find Maddie on social media and on Spotify as Maz Green.
The Voice continues on Channel 7 and 7plus.
