ADRIAN — Ask Adrian’s Braxton Garza about his debut on NBC’s “The Voice” earlier this year, and he’ll tell you it was actually all a blur.

“I blacked out,” he said, laughing. “I can’t remember what the crowd was doing or the coaches’ faces.”

Garza, who grew up on Adrian’s east side and attended Madison Schools, earned chair-turns from both Michael Bublé and Kelsea Ballerini, two of the show’s judges, for his performance of Warren Zeiders’ “Pretty Little Poison” during the Feb. 10 blind auditions. 

And although he was eliminated in the battle round, which came next, “I was grateful to be there,” he said. “Just to get a chair turn, no matter the outcome.”

Garza’s journey to “The Voice” began in January 2023 with a virtual open call. He was told he wasn’t what the show was looking for that season, but that he should try out again.

Then an email arrived from a producer.

After a lengthy process involving discussions of what kind of music he performed and what his inspirations were, and a background check, Garza got to make the trip to California for this season, the show’s 27th, and perform in front of Bublé, Ballerini, John Legend and Adam Levine for the blind auditions.

“Pretty Little Poison” came from a long list of music provided by the show, from which he had to choose a dozen options. The producers made the final choice for him based on what they thought would suit him and what would add variety to the show.

“I think it was a good choice. It fit my voice,” he said.

He made it onto Team Bublé when Bublé used his “block” to keep Ballerini from getting Garza for her team.

“All the judges were super kind,” he said, and although he didn’t make it as far in the show as he would have hoped, he came away from the experience having heard some very special words of praise from both Ballerini and Bublé.

“Michael told me ‘you don’t know how good you are.’ That was great to hear,” he said.

And he enjoyed getting to meet so many other singers, ranging from people who’ve never done professional gigs before to some who already have touring experience.

“Almost everyone I met out there was super humble,” he said. “I made a lot of friends.” 

And while one might expect the world of singing competitions to be on the cutthroat side, “it was a very supportive group of people.”

Garza grew up listening to a wide variety of music. His dad liked everything from classic rock to Prince to Michael Jackson, while his mom leaned more toward Shania Twain and the Dixie Chicks. His first guitar came from his grandfather, who liked to sing and recorded videos of himself.

“’Simple Man’ was one of the first songs I learned,” he said. “It was one of Grandpa’s favorite songs.”

Garza — who never learned to read music, teaching himself either by ear or through watching tutorials — describes his style as “a country, bluesy, rock blend.”

“I just like integrating all those things,” he said, and he’s intent on having his own sound. “I don’t want people to tell me I sound like someone else.” 

He and a backup band consisting of “a few buddies who are helping me bring my vision to life” focus on originals as opposed to covering other musicians’ songs. That’s a deliberate choice.

With a cover band, “people hear you sing and they hear your voice, but they don’t hear your ability to write,” he said.

But there was one especially poignant cover song in his life. When Garza’s dad died in 2021, he recorded “Go Rest High on That Mountain” for the memorial service.

Losing his dad “was definitely a rough time,” he said. “Nothing will ever feel good enough to explain that relationship, song-wise.” And, he admits, it took a friend’s pushing him “to get my drive back.”

 When he’s not performing, the father of two works for the Adrian Parks & Recreation Department. “They’re all good people and very supportive,” he said.

To this point, his performances have been online videos or small gigs like the local bar scene — and for a man who now has “The Voice” on his resume, “it’s more scary singing in front of 10 people than for 200 people far away,” he said — but later this year he’s opening for a big act, yet to be announced, at Meckley’s Fruit Farm in Somerset.

“I’m very excited,” he said. “There are a lot of doors opening for me.”