Paxton Ingram, off ‘The Voice,’ but don’t count him out

So long for now, Paxton Ingram. The local singer was eliminated last week from The Voice last week, but we are pretty sure we’ll be seeing Ingram (Team Blake) performing again soon. The final four will battle it on the NBC reality competition at 8 p.m. Monday and Tuesday nights.

We spoke to the former backup dancer for Britney Spears who teaches hip hop at Show Stoppers Studio in Hialeah.

How did it feel to say goodbye to “The Voice?”

I think I speak for all of us when I say this — we all went in there in like full battle mode, beast mode. We all knew our time was going to come, regardless. There’s only one more week left of the show, and that’s how the game rolls. Four people must go home. When you do get eliminated, it’s like, snap, but look how far I made it. My God, a semifinalist! So I was definitely not as sad as I thought I was going to be. I was definitely grateful for the opportunity and excited about the future. It was a really cool feeling. I have zero regrets. I did everything I wanted to do because I went up there and I gave it my all every single time.

What are your upcoming plans? Have any thoughts on doing an album?

I’m a huge lover of pop music. That’s like my biggest foundation. So the type of record I would make would just be a glorious pop album with a lot of soul. It would be cool.

What was it like working with Blake Shelton?

We’re like kindred spirits, you know? He’s such a bright, lovely person and makes you comfortable and laugh. He’s a joy to be around. That’s something that I admire and that I want to be and what I strive to be in my life. So going into rehearsals was always fun. But when we got down to business, he allowed me to be myself. There was so much trust between the both of us. There was a couple of song choices he would [say no] then give me the reasons why. Then I would bring back another song and he would 100 percent love it and support it. He was very hands on and making sure that it was perfect. Like no error — perfect. He always challenged me, pushed me to the next level every single week.

What advice would you give the final four?

It would be to just always remember what your intention is — why you sing, why you perform, why you make music. Never lose sight of what made you start this whole thing. Because once you get into the competition or when it starts to become a competition, [winning] can’t be your ultimate motivation. You have to have another motivation. Why do you do what you do? And I feel like that will propel you even further in life. Always remember your biggest competition is yourself. As long as you can outdo yourself each week, you’re OK.

This story was originally published May 20, 2016 at 2:17 PM with the headline "Paxton Ingram, off ‘The Voice,’ but don’t count him out."