A+ Services

From the lake to 'The Voice': Prior Lake native Tim Mahoney took the long road ...

“Surreal” is how Jeanne describes watching her nephew on national TV. She points out that even though Levine went with the younger, more moldable Weston, the coach still recognized Mahoney’s talent. Fellow coach Cee Lo Green marveled that Mahoney had “something in your voice I’ve never quite heard before.” And coach Christina Aguilera exclaimed, “You both were really good.” Mahoney lives in downtown Minneapolis with his girlfriend Kelli, who accompanied his mom and older brother Marc to Los Angeles for moral support during the show. He plans to continue riding the waves of his recent TV appearances and iTunes success. He’s heavily promoting himself on Twitter and Facebook, and he’s enjoying hearing from old and new fans all over the country, including a group of rabid fans who started a Facebook group this week called “Bring Back Tim.” I knew the casting director. I had tried out for “Rock Star: INXS.” I came within about three people to making it on that show. The casting director called me about this new show, “The Voice.” I was a little leery at first – no matter what talent level you’re at, you don’t know what they’re looking for on these shows. After auditions in Minneapolis, about 90 of us went to L.A. After about a month, they whittled it down to the final 32. There were about 30,000 or 40,000 throughout the country who auditioned, much less than with “American Idol.” This show is a little more focused – not that “Idol” doesn’t have talent – this is just more focused, not just a cattle call. How has the Internet helped you as a musician and a contestant?

That has been pretty much insanity. I had two Facebook pages, and now I have a page for Tim Mahoney on “The Voice.” I had a good fan base, but now people are coming out of the woodwork, talking about how my music has connected to them. I was always the “King of Almost.” When I made it on TV, I felt like that ended right there.