ST. LOUIS — Monday night's episode of "The Voice" was a big one for St. Louis' Joanna Serenko. She made it through the knock-out round and will go on to live performances. She also has a new coach. She went from being on John Legend's team to being 'Team Blake'.
"It’s very unexpected just to have gotten on to Team Blake now," Serenko said. "I think it’s very unexpected for a lot viewers as well because everyone thinks I'm where I need to be on Team John, like I’m at home with Team John."
However, Serenko, who started the competition on Nick Jonas' team, said she welcomes the change.
“I’m really happy that it worked out this way because I get to experience each of the coaches," Serenko said. “It’s surprising, but also I’m super happy for that reason because I just want to work with as many people as I can.”
As each episode airs, Serenko sees them for the first time with the rest of the country.
“Each performance, I just remember doing it and then nothing else after,” Serenko said. “So, watching it and re-watching what the coaches said and what I was doing with my face and my body is always interesting to re-watch and see.”
With there being a delay between the performances and when they air, Serenko said she gets enough time to be able to take the lessons out of each performance.
“I think a lot of the adrenaline is gone so I can focus on the things I need to focus on," Serenko said.
In the meantime, Serenko has been home in St. Louis practicing social distancing as COVID-19 continues to impact the country. She said she has been spending the time working on her craft.
“I feel like it’s just been a lot of downtime that is useful just to focus on things that are more behind the scenes of music and working on refining my old stuff and refining things I want to perform in the future," Serenko said.
Serenko said she has also been working on writing, new projects with her musician boyfriend and hosting virtual live concerts on her Instagram account. Her next performance will be on Monday, April 20. You can watch on her Instagram page @joannaserenko.
Serenko said diving into her music and connecting with her fans virtually keeps her positive during social isolation.
“It’s super unfortunate that we’re not allowed to leave our houses and see our friends and do concerts and all the fun stuff we used to be able to do," Serenko said. "I know this too shall pass, this too shall go away.”
With live performances supposed to be just weeks away, a spokesperson with NBC told 5 On Your Side the production team is monitoring COVID-19 guidelines and is working on potential alternatives for live performances.
Serenko said she's along for the ride.
“It is a lot of pressure but at the same time with the whole virus thing going around and us not knowing what we’re doing yet, I’m letting it be in the hands of fate," Serenko said.