Biography

Cassadee Blake Pope got the look and "The Voice", a lethal combination that can make her go far in the music industry. Born on August 28, 1989, Pope began pursuing career in music when she sang for the award-winning St. Ann School Jazz Band while in middle school in West Palm Beach. She would later perform with good friend Mike Gentile under another band called Blake, which is titled after her middle name. The band disbanded before even getting a label. 

Pope's closest encounter with fame would be with Hey Monday. In 2008, she and Gentile held auditions for other band members in Florida and found Alex Lipshaw, Michael "Jersey" Moriarty, and Elliot James. Their demos caught the attention of Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz who then signed them to his label, Decaydance. However, Wentz had to share them with Columbia Records who also took interest in the band. Hey Monday released their first studio album "Hold on Tight" in October 2008 and toured with Fall Out Boy and We the Kings among others. 

James left the band at the end of 2009 but the band continued working together with a four-people formation. Their second studio album "Beneath It All" was released in August 2010 and debuted at number 25 on Billboard Hot 200 chart. The band embarked on a tour to support the album before bassist Moriarty exited the group. Hey Monday released a holiday EP in December 2010 and then announced that they went on an indefinite hiatus. 

Pope decided to go solo while the future of Hey Monday was in question. She actually had given it a go long before auditioning for "The Voice" season 3. She provided vocals for The Cab's remix version of their song "Take My Hand" and We the Kings' song "We'll Be a Dream", to name some. She also had an experience of traveling as a solo act in early 2012 and released a four-song EP in May that year. 

Pope tried her luck at the blind audition of "The Voice" season 3 in summer 2012, getting all four buttons pushed. She eventually chose Blake Shelton to be her coach. Pope easily went through the battle round, knockout round and live performances. She was the only female contestant to enter the Top 4 and eventually the one who stole the crown. 

Pope, through audience votes, won the third season of "The Voice" on December 18, 2012, beating fellow teammate Terry McDermott. Upon winning, Pope was signed by Universal Music Group and will release her album in the first quarter of 2013. "If you were to take Taylor Swift, make it edgier with a just a little hint of country and make the lyrics a little more mature, that would be the direction I'd like to take," Pope told Billboard about her album's direction.

[h/t: aceshowbiz]