June 11, 2020
Today we have a TREAT for you. We had the honor of chatting with our good friend Thunderstorm Artis.
Thunderstorm is a singer/songwriter born on the North Shore of Oahu. He learned at a very young age to play piano, guitar, harp and percussion from his parents who were part of the Motown Family. His father Ron played keyboards on Michael Jackson’s Thriller, and his mom Victoria toured as a vocalist with Lena Horne and many other Motown greats.
Thunderstorm has been featured in festivals throughout North America, and he’s played with artists like Jack Johnson, Booker T, and Mike Love. He most recently placed as a finalist in 3rd place on Season 18 of NBC’s The Voice with his coach Nick Jonas. His music crosses so many genres including folk, rock, soul, and country. No matter what Thunderstorm sings or writes he does it from his heart. He believes that through his music he can make our world a better place by lifting the hearts of others.
Lindsey actually got connected with Thunder from her church on the north shore of Oahu where he used to sing and lead on the worship team. We haven’t had a singer or musician on the show yet, and as we watched him CRUSH IT on The Voice this past season, we felt like his story was such a beautiful and inspiring one that NEEDED to be shared.
Today we got to talk to him ALL about his journey as a musician and how growing up in a family of 11 kids both grew him and affected his style and sound as a musician. We then got to chat with Thunder about ALL the behind the scenes juice from what it’s like being on one of the most popular competition shows ever, The Voice. He tells us the very inspiring story of the chance encounter that ended up getting him on the show, he talks about what the blind auditions are like, what he learned from working with both John Legend and Nick Jonas as his coaches, and SOOO much more.
Thunder is honestly one of the most humble, kind, talented, and spirit filled people we’ve had on the show, and he drops SO many nuggets of wisdom, whether you’re trying to break into the music industry or go after a dream that’s been on your heart. You NEED what this man has to say.
Thunderstorm grew up in a big family with 11 kids, 6 boys and 5 girls. His parents were both musicians and met in the music industry but decided to leave all of that behind and move to Hawaii. He grew up in a small town and they had a shop where between 11-5 and they would play music.
He began to play the drums and percussions but didn’t start singing until he was 15. He and his older brother started touring together and he began to play for his church. It ignited a passion for music in him. He use to be so afraid to sing, and his mom was the first one to put him on stage. She always encouraged him to sing!
Thunderstorm just had the opportunity to be on season 18 of The Voice and make it all the way to the finale.
Now he tours all over the country and goes on mission trips to Brazil, Mexico, and the Philippines to do worship there as well.
His dad had an important rule. They couldn’t say they didn’t like a genre of music unless they could play it or understand it. This led him to listen to a ton of different genres and artists. Growing up, in a family with 11 kids, his dad always wanted to create an atmosphere of togetherness. Whoever made it to the sound system first got to play their music and the whole family had to listen. One of his sisters was into Korean Pop Music, one brother was into heavy metal, and one was into country music. He grew up listening to all people and genres of music. When he began to write music, it all influenced him. Each genre had a different part of who he was and allowed him to really amplify that. When Thunderstorm began to write more music he started to cross the boundaries of genres.
It all started when Thunderstorm was sitting in his house playing video games. He thought to himself that he could either sit inside and play video games and waste the day, or he could get outside and do something. There was an ice cream store called Scoop of Paradise where Thunderstorm and his brother would often play music outside of. Thunderstorm decided to go out there and play music for a couple of hours. There was a couple that walked by with a little girl and stopped to listen for an entire hour. Thunderstorm decided to talk to them and the guy turned out to be Jon Chu, the director of Crazy Rich Asians (although Thunder didn’t know it at the time). Jon told Thunderstorm that he was touched by his music and his little daughter was so captivated.
Thunder talked to him for about 20 minutes and then Jon grabbed his email and told him he would be in touch. Jon emailed and explained who he was and told Thunder he was getting married in March and that he would love for him to write their first dance song. He wanted Thunderstorm to take the story of how they met and turn it into a song. Thunderstorm wrote a song and even sung it at their wedding. Jon was so touched by everything that Thunderstorm did that he decided to reach out to The Voice casting crew to tell them to look out for him. Thunderstorm had no idea that he reached out! He was on tour and got a random email from NBC The Voice asking Thunderstorm to audition. Thunderstorm thought it was fake but they reassured him that it was real and that someone recommended him!
Thunderstorm went to audition in the middle of his tour and didn’t know what would come of it! He continued to tour and even had his first sold-out show in both San Francisco and Denver. He found out in October that he made it through and had a chance to audition in the blind auditions.
Good opportunities come when you decide to get up. Instead of allowing the day to go to waste, get up, and make something of it. The biggest opportunity of Thunderstorm’s life came when he decided to go play music on the street instead of playing video games.
He felt like God had put something on his heart and he wasn’t sure what it was. He knew he needed to follow it. He put a dream on his heart and Thunder knew it was something he needed to do and stop making excuses. He needed to step out.
In the past year and a half Thundestorm’s life has radically changed for the better just by following something that God was tugging on his heart. If you feel like God is telling you to do something, even if you can’t see if it is going to work out, that is what faith is. It’s stepping where your eyes can’t see and trusting that God is going to put something under your foot and lay the platform and path out for you. That’s what he has done for Thunderstorm. His journey has just begun.
Thunderstorm heard that John Legend was going to be a coach and he really wanted to get him to turn around. Thunder thought that he was just a singer-songwriter from Hawaii and a worship leader, so there was no way he was going to get a four chair turn. There were so many other talented singers there! He knew he wanted to go out there, try his best, and hope for at least one chair. It was so nerve wracking and backstage there were so many things you didn’t see on camera. You didn’t get a lot of time before going on stage. He remembers taking a breath and starting to play his song. He played for about 15 seconds before opening his eyes to see if anyone turned around.
Most people don’t know that the sound you hear when someone turns their chair isn’t actually there! Unless you are watching, you have no idea if a coach turned around.
Thunderstorm is pretty introverted so when he is playing he often has his eyes closed. His stage coach always encouraged him to open his eyes to invite the audience to come alongside him.
During his audition when he finally opened his eyes he saw that Nick Jonas, John Legend, and Kelly Clarkson were all staring at him. He freaked out and tried to stay focused and next Blake turned his chair.
He was really happy that he composed the song, put it together, was able to perform it, and four established artists enjoyed it. It left him in awe.
It showed him that all the hard work through the years paid off. From singing on the street to touring on a greyhound bus, it was all worth it. It all validated the hard work he put in. The gift that his family gave him was worth pursuing.
When it comes to the way the live shows went, it was a whole collage of emotions. He was super happy to be doing it, but also bummed they weren’t going to be on stage.
In the knockout rounds, Thunder was stolen by Nick Jonas. He was looking forward to working with him in person and getting to know him on that level. Because of the virus, it was hard to not work together in the same vicinity. Their entire relationship was through Zoom. Thunder was a little bummed at first, but one perk was that his wife was able to be with him through the whole experience.
The live shows at home process was a lot of work. There is a lot you see, and a lot you don’t see. Everyone had to roll with the punches. Not only did you have to be concerned with the music, but also the cameras, backdrop, your own set design, and visuals. There was so much that played into it.
The way they did the live shows was a blessing but also a ton of hard work. You have to learn to roll with the punches, and when life throws you lemons you have to make lemonade out of it.
He was just so excited that the show continued.
Thunder knew that there were so many talented people on the show. He wanted to add something a little different. He wanted to play the music that made him fall in love with music and let his heart shine through. He hoped the music he shared would bring people a little peace in the crazy time.
Nick Jonas helped Thunder a ton with his falsetto. Throughout Thunder’s life, he had damaged his voice a bit (through yelling in sports and singing). Nick and voice coaches taught him a few new workouts for his voice that allowed him to hit notes he wasn’t able to hit before. It allowed him to try things that he was never comfortable with before.
John Legend is such a talented and intelligent person. Thunder loved talking to him because everything he said was deliberate. John never wasted a word. They were able to talk about some of the hardships in starting in the music industry. John encouraged him to not always sing at a 7 or 8 but sometimes take it down to a 3 to add some emotion and fluctuation.
Nick was such an encouragement and Thunder loved performing an original song for him. Thunder was never a huge Jonas Brothers fan and always wondered what they were actually like in person. But, when Thunder met Nick in person he realized what a humble individual he was. It spoke volumes to him. It’s so easy to judge someone from what you see in the media, but meeting someone in person can change that. He didn’t hesitate to give Thunderstorm both praise and constructive criticism.
Surround yourself with people that are better than you. Always. This allows you to grow but also keeps you humble. Thunder has always been able to look up to his older brother.
Learn how to receive criticism. This is the hardest thing to receive as an artist. It is so scary to be a performer. When you sing, you wear your heart on your sleeves. What you are singing comes from what’s inside and people who are listening can either accept it or judge you. It’s incredibly vulnerable. Thunder’s dad always said there are two ways to accept criticism. One is to say that the person doesn’t know what they are talking about. The second is whether or not you agree with what they are saying, to go work on it and come back to present it to them.
Surround yourself with people who aren’t toxic. Don’t let people discourage you and get you down. Keep trying!
Work really hard. If you fail, try again. Try your best and keep working. You never know what life will give you if you believe in it enough and give it your all.
Thunder is looking into recording studios and excited to start working on a new album. He’d love to release it in the late summer or fall. He has been working with his booking agent to set up touring and concerts!
Thunder is also looking forward to continue learning what it means to be a husband. Thunder has had such great examples in his life and wants to continue to learn how to balance working hard and putting his wife first.
He and his wife are planning on going to Australia for a bigger wedding ceremony and hope to go on a honeymoon!
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WASSUP FRIENDS. We’re Evie + Lindsey, co-founders of this wild partayyy called The Heart University. Our goal is to empower entrepreneurs to kick freaking BUTT in their businesses, dive down into the heart of their why and how, and serve you with all possible tools you’ll need to up-level your business game and CRUSH those goals of yours.
Whether you’re coming to an in-person workshop, joining our online course, or soaking up all the strategies via this blog or our podcast, we’re STOKED you’re here + can’t wait to see you out there kicking butt.
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