Colin Bracewell started singing almost as soon as he could talk.

Stillwater singer-songwriter Colin Bracewell, 24, will make his debut on “The Voice,” at 7 p.m. Monday on KARE-11. (Claudia Staut / Pioneer Press)

His maternal grandparents had a jukebox at their home in Windsor, Ontario, and Bracewell’s mother remembers him belting out songs like “The Candy Man” by Sammy Davis Jr. and “Rubber Duckie” by Ernie from “Sesame Street.”

“He used whatever he could find as a microphone,” Michelle Bracewell-Musson said. “He got a violin when he was 3, and he would make up songs and perform in front of anyone he could find. We had a very stressful home, and Colin went to music to find peace. He would try to make sense of it all by singing and writing about all of his feelings.”

Bracewell continued to pursue music after he and his family moved to Stillwater when he was 13.

That pursuit has now led to a coveted spot on NBC’s “The Voice.” Bracewell, 24, will make his debut in the nationwide singing competition at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, on KARE-TV.

Appearing on the show, which helped launch the careers of singers Morgan Wallen, Cassadee Pope and Jordan Smith, has been “a dream come true,” he said.

“It’s still hard to believe,” Bracewell said. “They started with something like 60,000 applicants, and then they flew 80 of us out (to California). Forty-eight of us were picked to be on the show, which made me feel pretty good. I mean, that’s just crazy numbers-wise. It was really exciting to be, like, ‘Oh, my God, I actually got it.’”

Bracewell, who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2024, spent most of June and part of July in Burbank, Calif., for taping.

This season’s celebrity coaches are Michael Bublé, Snoop Dogg, Niall Horan and Reba McEntire.

Bracewell said he feels extremely lucky that Horan, who became famous as a member of the boy band One Direction, and Bublé, the Canadian singer and songwriter, were among this season’s coaches. Of the four, Horan is probably closest to his musical style, he said.

“I can’t say if he picked me, but I could say that I had a preference,” he said. “From the beginning, it was always Niall. But they’re all really great choices.”

Bracewell said he is not allowed to disclose details about the show, including whether he was picked to compete in the playoffs later this fall.

‘Chance of a lifetime’

Regardless of whether he advances, Bracewell said being on “The Voice,” meeting the coaches and getting to know the other singers was “the chance of a lifetime.”

Stillwater singer Colin Bracewell performs at the Fine Line in Minneapolis on March 14, 2024. (Courtesy of Julia Gacek)

“It was really awesome to be getting paid to be out there and do music full time,” he said. “It was really nice to get appreciated for your work and stay busy out there.”

Bracewell has made a name for himself locally. His songs are played on The Current, Cities 97.1, and Radio K. His biggest hit, “Slopes,” has more than 167,000 listens on Spotify. He’s performed at First Avenue, the Turf Club, the Fine Line, 7th Street Entry, the Varsity Theater and the Minnesota State Fair.

He lives in a rental house near downtown Stillwater and is working on his first album, as yet unnamed, which he is recording at RiverRock Studios in Minneapolis.

“It’s been a long process, and I’m still writing,” he said. “But it’s been really fulfilling, and I’ve been able to work with a lot of great people. The thing I’ve learned is you just have to try and then retry and eventually you uncover the elements that you really want. The songs that have made the cut are like … I can’t live without these songs.”

Opera and Radio K

Bracewell started writing songs when he was in his early teens, but didn’t start performing his own music until after he graduated from St. Croix Preparatory Academy in Baytown Township.

He studied opera and majored in vocal performance at the U of M.

While at the university, Bracewell worked as a DJ at Radio K, sang in an a cappella group and performed in opera productions with the Minnesota Opera.

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“But I knew I couldn’t commit my whole life to opera,” he said. “Just because it’s a lot of, like, French. It’s a lot of languages. It takes years of training to perfect the craft. I like doing my own music because you can have complete control over it.”

Isolating during the COVID-19 pandemic gave Bracewell time to “really write and figure out what I wanted to do,” he said. He plays the guitar, saxophone, violin and piano. His musical influences include Hozier, Alabama Shakes, Harry Styles and Prince.

“I was lucky to be surrounded by live music and playing instruments at such a young age,” he said. “Being able to play everything live — with people — is when the sparks start to fly. Anything can happen. That live sound never goes away. You can’t fake playing an instrument.”

Encouraged to apply

Bracewell said his mother encouraged him to apply for “The Voice” after he graduated. So did singer Gina Miles, who won “The Voice” in 2023.

Colin Bracewell in Stillwater on Sept. 15, 2025. The Stillwater singer, 24, will make his debut in the nationwide singing competition, NBC’s “The Voice.” The show airs at 7 p.m. Monday, Oct. 6, 2025, on KARE-11. (Claudia Staut / Pioneer Press)

“I got to know Gina when we both played at the Fine Line (in September 2024),” he said. “She said that her experience on the show was really great. She got a lot out of it — not only exposure, but just the people that she met. She met her manager through the show. She got her record deal through it. She got to meet people from other parts of the country for touring and working together. So, yeah, it sounded like it made sense to do something like that.”

Bracewell submitted a couple of his music videos, and one of the show’s casting directors reached out to him. “They wanted to know my story,” he said. “I’m originally from Canada, and I went to school for opera. They liked that.”

Another compelling storyline: Bracewell’s older brother, Chad, has a rare genetic disorder and is on the autism spectrum. He’s a well-known fixture at Bracewell’s concerts, helping sell merchandise and chatting with fans.

“They really liked that, too,” Bracewell said. “They wanted him to be a part of the story in some capacity.”

Chad Bracewell, 27, and their mother were both flown to California to be part of the show. “He had a great time,” Bracewell said. “They really treated him well.”

Eventually, Bracewell hopes his brother can join him on a nationwide tour.

“That would be the ideal thing,” he said. “Where he can just come to shows and tour with me and just be there every step of the way. Even when my parents are gone, I would need him to be there as much as he would, hopefully, need me. He just makes everything so much more relaxed and personal.”

Credit to Stillwater

Bracewell credits growing up and living in Stillwater with much of his creative inspiration.

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“It’s just been a really nice oasis,” he said. “I have a little fishing boat that I take out on the St. Croix, and there are these islands where you can just camp out there and have a bonfire. It gives you time to just, like, think and slow down.

“I think if I moved to L.A., I would have a hard time slowing down because it would always be just like, ‘What’s the next thing?’” he said. “I think that taking month-long trips out there is good, because I can go out, work for a long time, and then come back and really take those experiences and be like, ‘OK, what do I really think about it?’

“I’ve been here for 11 years now. That’s longer than I’ve lived anywhere else,” he said. “I still know everyone, and they know me. I pull a lot of my inspiration from just the relationships that I’ve been in, and the majority of those have been in Stillwater.”