On Display with Melissa Gorga - Turn Down For Watts (w/ Kelsie Watts)

Episode Date: May 29, 2025

She’s been on American Idol. She’s been on The Voice. And she just recently made her debut on Broadway!This week, Melissa invites the talented musician, songwriter, and actress, Kelsie Watts, onto the show to talk about her first steps into the singing world, her little bond with Kelly Clarkson, the demanding schedule of a life on Broadway, and why her next single, “Fit In” will resonate with every person who has ever doubted themselves in the past.Melissa also talks about a past guest that Kelsie reminds her a lot of.If you’re in the New York area, be sure to check Kelsie out in Six: The Musical. Tickets are available now!This week’s sponsors:Booking.com - Find the Stay That's Ridiculously Right for You: www.Booking.com (Save up to 20% on a Getaway Deal)Pluto.TV - Streaming TV: www.Pluto.TV (Free!)Progressive - "Name-Your-Price" Tool: www.Progressive.comSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

This episode of On Display with Melissa Gorga is brought to you by Booking.com. Booking.yeah. From vacation rentals to hotels across the US, Booking.com has the ideal summer's day for absolutely anyone, even those who might seem impossible to please. Find exactly what you're booking for. Booking.com. Booking.yeah. Book today on the site or in the app. I keep on falling in

and out of love with you. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, hey, hey, welcome back to another episode of On Display with Melissa Gorgia.

What's up, everybody? I'm so excited to say hi to you all today. And I'm actually very, very excited because we have an absolute powerhouse on the show today. She blew us all away on NBC's The Voice, Team Kelly all the way. And she's been making waves ever since with her electrifying performances, raw authenticity, and unmistakable voice that hits you right in the soul. She's an artist, a songwriter, and a survivor with a story that's just as powerful as her high notes, which I heard last night, guys,

and they're pretty incredible. You can see her as one of the leads in the Broadway hit, Six. So make sure you guys grab your tickets for that now, but please welcome the lovely and talented Kelsey Watts. What's up girlfriend? Hey, how are you? Good. I am so excited. I literally was just with you last night eating dinner. What was that like six hours ago? I know. I was about to say, Oh, good morning. I just saw you. Yeah, like six hours ago. I know. I love that you're drinking your coffee. My coffee happened like four hours ago because

this whole house woke up and it's Memorial Day weekend this weekend. Oh, right. Oh my God. My kids think they're going to Paris. I'm like, we're going to my shore house. They're packing and they're getting ready and they're fighting over the guest rooms and what friends are going to sleep and what guest rooms. That's's just like the love of being a Jersey girl in the summertime for a party weekend. Everyone just like heads down the shore. It used to be about me and my friends and going down. Now it's about like the kids and what they want and the parties they want to have and the wave runners. I'm out. I'm out. I'm out.

You're like, no, I'm just going to go chill over here. Yeah, exactly. I'm going to put headphones on so I'm out. You're like, no, I'm just going to go chill over here. Yeah, exactly. I'm going to put headphones on so I don't hear the music blasting in four different rooms of the house. Yeah, four different kinds of music, like all around. Yes. Oh my God, you have no idea. So yeah, I've been out for a minute.

But guys, we were together last night. I went last night to see the show Six on Broadway, which was so amazing, by the way, the energy in the crowd was awesome. The six of you girls are one more talented than the next. You guys were so, so great. I loved it. I loved it. And guys, I went with the housewives. I went with Margaret, I went with Danielle, Rachel and Dolores. And we really had, we had a great night and then we went with to dinner after with Kelsey and ourores and we really had we had a great night and then we went with to dinner after with Kelsey and our and our amazing husband has his awesome son. Yes, I love his South African accent. I know it's so fun. I always I make jokes. I'm like, you

know, I just married you for your accent, right? Like you can't get rid of that. Yeah, I was like telling him him and I are the same height all night because he's like six five. I was like I'm like me and you look at us. We're both so tall. We're both in our 30s. We're thriving We're just like 30 and thriving. I freaking love it Anyway, alright, so you have to tell you have to tell my listeners some things about you first of all How did you get your start? I know you were on the voice for season 19 and American Idol season 15. So try to be Yes, talk to me about that. I want to hear about those shows to start off.

I know. Well, honestly, I I've been doing music and singing since I was two. And as cliche as that sounds, the first video we have of me singing, I was two years old, like in Looney Tune pajamas, sitting on the fireplace mantel singing this song called The Basics of Life by an old gospel group. So I mean, it's just been a part of my DNA forever and always. I don't remember learning how to sing, finding a love for it. It really has just been instilled in me from day one. You were born with it. You were born with it. It really was. I was like, thank you, Jesus. Appreciate it. It was in that special. I'm so jealous when someone can just, like, it takes zero effort.

I mean, I'm not going to say you don't work hard on your voice and you're all the things, but when it's just that natural talent, oh, you guys are so lucky. Just born with it, you know? It's such a blessing. I'm so, so grateful. So, I mean, I've always had a love for music. I've always had a love for theater, but I started pursuing being an artist, actually writing and releasing all of my own stuff right after The Voice. So as a singer, you just want to get a job singing. Don't really care where it is, but pays the bills. Amazing.

So I did a lot of showboat gigs, a lot of wedding band gigs, studio sessions. Um, and in addition to that was also bartending all the time and then putting that money back into music. So in 2020, we, I was on season 19 of the voice and that was during COVID literally in the middle of COVID, uh, was living in the Burbank Marriott for like three months. During COVID. Yeah, during COVID.

I think we tested like every third day, it was crazy. But I mean, I went into that show knowing, okay, this is not gonna make me famous, this is not gonna make my music just soar. How can I use this for my benefit as an artist to really get visibility? And so that was my mindset going into it, which is why I sang a Kelly Clarkson song for Kelly Clarkson.

It was her newest single. And in my brain, I thought, if I pick this, it'll be good publicity for her. It'll be dramatic seeing someone sing her song. And then I can hopefully get airtime, just have people see my audition. And so that was really the jumping platform was being on the voice. How'd that go?

How did it go? Did it like, did people start to notice you more after you did the voice? Was it kind of life changing in a way as far as just the fame aspect goes? I wouldn't say fame necessarily came from it, but I was recognized a lot. My audition went viral because of the whistle notes that I hit and Kelly was, her reaction was super cool. And there was actually a trend on TikTok where people were singing the part of the song that I was singing. It was, it was trying to hit the song that I was singing. Wow. It was trying to hit the note. Yes, yes.

It was so fun. And so it definitely catapulted me wanting to actually pursue this and thinking that I could. And so I was like, well, if I can figure out the social media thing, that'd be great. And so I just started figuring out, because TikTok was just a thing. Like it had just come out and started doing that with my husband Brandon. We did random Disney covers

and just throwing anything against the wall that we could. And then it wasn't until 2023 that I really started taking social media seriously. I was like, okay, I need to post every single day. I need to figure out a way to just be consistent. And it was pop music month on TikTok. And I just started posting once a day because my manager and my husband were like,

Kelsey, just sing, just sing. And I was like, no, nobody wants to hear me sing. Everybody sings and they go, no, just, just sing. And so when I tell you, I was so over it, I put the least amount of effort in, literally put up my phone and then Brandon's phone, but a karaoke track on Brandon's phone. And I was just making coffee. Like actually that's what I do in the mornings. Like I just sing and make coffee. And so we filmed it and it just took off. It just exploded. So I was in a state of thinking, okay, I think people might actually want to just hear me sing. Hear you sing. Yeah. And so it was really encouraging and that's kind of what got me to be here.

sing. Yeah. And so it was really encouraging. And that's kind of what got me to be here. I'm going to vouch for the people right now. They do want to just see you sing in your kitchen, because I didn't know who you were at all. Never heard of you. Didn't watch the boys. Didn't watch American Idol. Nothing. I'm just scrolling on TikTok. It might've been TikTok. It might've been Instagram. Could've been both. And I found you on my own. Just, and I remembered you because your voice, first of all, you would pick songs that were extremely like everybody knows, which was smart. Like you would pick songs that we know the words to

most of the time. Am I right about that or no? Because I feel like you would pick songs that I was like, yeah, I wanna sing it too. Like, and I know the words in the background. And I think that one is like the most important thing is people want it's like when you go to the club and they start playing that Whitney song that everyone can sing. It's just like Celine Dion

ballad that's like in club mix now and it's like you get you got the whole crowd paying attention right so you were you were singing song and I that's Joe and I found you on tik tok both of us and we remembered you because your husband was always either in the foreground or the background and you were always making something in your kitchen which now I know was coffee and yeah and you're honestly I swear your voice was so amazing. And like, you just lured me right in. And so whoever told you whatever manager told you to do that, they were on point because that's how I know you from social media. So when I first met

you, which you're you somehow met up and we'll talk about this with Danielle Cabral, and then we had met at where did we meet a planet planet planet Hollywood? Yeah, okay. An event. And then when I saw you, I was like, wait a second. You're the girl that sings on Instagram. Like I didn't know you from the show. Broadway. Right. From any of that. Yeah, that's the girl who sings with her husband in the kitchen. And I fucking love her. Like, that's how I knew you so

yeah, crazy. And guys, you need to check out her. What's your Instagram handle? So Instagram is Kelsey Watts music, K L s I e, and then watch like a light bulb, and then music ever everywhere else. It's just what's okay. So guys, if you don't you need to check it out because it is it's just Kelsey Watts. Okay, so guys, if you don't, you need to check it out because it's mesmerizing, it's wonderful and it really takes your breath away and it's easy and it's great. The power of social media, right?

Did you ever think that that was gonna happen, that people are gonna know you from this? No, honest to God, I didn't. I really didn't and what's crazy is I get recognized more, even in New York City, which blows my mind because I'm in frickin New York City. And people will come up to me on the street and not know me from being in the show. They know me from tick tock or Instagram. And now people are coming to the show that follow me on tick tock or Instagram.

And they're like, Oh, my gosh, I follow you all the way from the UK. We came to see you and I'm like, what? Wow. This is wild. It must be a crazy feeling, especially when that's all you ever wanted was to just sing, right? Just to like belt it and sing. And like people are noticing you for that.

Yeah, I feel so blessed for that because it is. I'm just like, I just wanna sing. I just wanna sing. Well, we're listening to you and we're loving every single second of all of it. But let's talk about let's like move from Instagram for a second because we need to talk about the fact that somehow you went from doing the voice doing you know, American Idol singing on Instagram and you landed a lead role on Broadway and there's so many aspects to this that I'm thinking in my head right now because I'm like I want to help the people out there who

have a love for singing like you do because they're probably like wanting to know how this happened, how this worked out and I also just want to hear your whole like experience with this because this is huge like Like there's girls out there that can sing amazing and they would die for the opportunities that you have just seemed to like really get and it's worked out for you. So I know it's not all easy. So talk to me about it a little bit. Yeah. Yeah. The whole process was a pretty wild story. So I was doing a showboat gig a pretty wild story. So I was doing a showboat gig. And after the show, we had a meet and greet and this lady came up to me who now I know it was Roberta Ducek. She's the music, the Roberta Ducek. She's the musical supervisor of Sixth the musical, but she's also worked

on Les Mis the movie with Hugh Jackman and Russell Crowe and Anne Hathaway. I mean, she's, she is a legend. Okay. So at this point, I had no idea that this was who I was talking to. So she comes up to me at a meet and greet, hands me her card and was like, hey, I would love to chat with you. We're casting for this musical. Just give me a call.

Shoot me a text whenever you can. And I had no idea who she was, what was going on. I didn't know she cast for Broadway, no idea. But I texted her, started a relationship, and eventually found out they were casting for the original cast of Six. It hadn't come to the United States yet. This was in 2020. So COVID happened. I did The Voice. She kind of walked with me through The Voice, which was really cool. So I started building just a friendship with her. And the next year,

she was like, Hey, would you just come to a callback for six? So I go to Chicago and they called me for a different role. Cathy Parr, they called me for the last queen and then made it through Chicago. They asked me to come to New York, went to New York. And then I got cut. Then made it through Chicago. They asked me to come to New York, went to New York. And then I got cut. And I was like, what? Hold on. Why?

Hold on. Why? And me and my non-musical theater brain, because I've never done musical theater professionally, so I'm not in this world. So I called her and I was like, hey, what do I need to do? Like what can make me better? And she goes, well, I would reach out to casting directors and like see, you know, what they recommend.

And so I emailed Peter Van Damme, who was with Tara Rubin casting at the time. And I said, hey, Peter, thank you for the opportunity. What would you recommend I work on so that way I can be a better pick for you all?" And he said, have you ever acted before? And I said, no, sir, I have not.

And he goes, well, if you could work on that, that would be great. And so he gave me a coach, Benjamin Shaw, who's here in New York. And I started working with Benji just on Zooms, starting to learn like the ins and outs of acting and what that looked like. I kept working on looked like. I kept working on my dance. I kept up my voice. And so the next year they asked me to come back and went to New York, made it to the final, final, finals. This was still for Cathy Parr. And I got helped. And I didn't get cast. They sent my stuff on, but I just, I didn't get

cast. But your voice is so insane. So at that point, are you like, is it, you have to think, are you blaming that on the acting part of the gig? Do you think that was the part of it? I mean, I think also part of it was you don't know what they need at the time. So sometimes they need somebody who is not a blonde hair, blue eyed. Like sometimes they need somebody that has a higher texture or somebody that has a totally different aesthetic than what I have. And

so it's also a combination with the queens because there's only six of you on stage. And so sometimes they're like, oh, well, this may work better. This may work better. And so when I didn't get cast again, by this point, I was like, you know, I just, I just don't think this is in the cards for me, but that's okay. I at least got a good experience. And that's when I started really honing in on socials. And I was like, well, we're just going to keep pursuing artistry. Well, they called me again the next year, this is in 2023. And they asked me to come to a boot camp, and they called me for Seymour, which is who I play now.

So they called me in for Seymour, and they flew me out here. I was here for a week with probably like 20 other girls or so, and went hardcore into all the choreography, one-on-one for singing, one-on-one for acting, and really broke everything down. And by the end of it, I truly did not expect anything to come of it. At this point, I'm like, all right, this is the third time I'm in front of them. If something's meant to happen, awesome.

But if not, I just got incredible education from some of the top people in this industry. How amazing. And so that was in May, 2023. I did not hear from them again until August of 2024. Oh my God. So at this point you gave up on the whole Broadway. You're like, yes, like I had given up completely.

Like, I mean, if they called again, I wasn't going to be like, no, but I did not expect anything. And by this point I'm already, you know, head first into social media, really growing that, you know, grew it to over a million in less than a year. And my brain is, that's where my brain is, is social media and releasing my own music and trying to mold who Kelsey Watts as an artist is. I so much so didn't expect this to happen

that my husband and I had just closed on a house in Nashville you were telling me about this. This is crazy. Yes, and three days later. We're in Home Depot picking out blinds for this house and I get a call and uh, they were like hey we have a Slot on Broadway. Are you interested? I'm sorry what? This episode of on Display is brought to you by booking.com. Booking.yeah. Imagine you're traveling with three kids, two sisters, a grandmother, two cousins, a crazy husband, and one nap schedule that rules them all. Some may want blackout

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that you need for your vacation. Whether you need a pool, a pet friendly place, or just a place that has an on-site gym. Guys, if the Gorkas can find their perfect stay on booking.com, anyone can. Find exactly what you're booking for. Booking.com. Booking.yeah. Book today on the site or in the app. Isn't that always the way it is? The second you give up on something and just say like, all right, I'm going to be here. We're going to do Nashville. This is where music lives. And then it's like, actually, we're going to make a left right now in this house. So what happened with the house? What did you do with that? I mean, thankfully, we have tenants now. So I mean,

we had to find a property manager and find tenants and you know what I mean? Because I'm not about to move to New York and pay rent and a mortgage. Are you kidding me? That's crazy. Yeah. No. No. That's crazy. Like no way. So you took it. You moved to New York. You took it. I did. I moved to New York and you know, the part that people don't really see is the nitty gritty underneath it. So you know, on the surface, it looks like, wow, she sang on social

media, she has a large following, they must have found her there and just cast her. But the reality is, this has been a process for like four years almost. And all the while I'm bartending until four or five o'clock in the morning in downtown Nashville, working as hard as I can to hone in on my craft, put that money back into my music. Like there's a whole grind underneath it. So that way, whenever this actually happened, it was so overwhelming in the best way possible. I was like, wait, what? Is this real?

And now, yes. And now I'm here in New York. I moved in January and I feel like I'm almost a full-blown New Yorker. Great. So you're pretty new. You haven't even been here a full year yet. No, I've only been here almost six months. Wow. Okay. So what is it like? What's different for you? I mean, from Nashville and from where did you grow up originally? I grew up in Lubbock, Texas, which is also vastly different from New York City.

How is your husband liking it, being from South Africa? Are you guys feeling the vibe of New York? Are you feeling like New Yorkers yet? Love it. Yes. Oh, no. We are obsessed. Now, and I love Nashville. Truly, I do. But I feel like I fit here. I feel like, oh, this makes sense with me. And Brandon, because he's, you know, South African, being a foreigner, he's an immigrant, like now he has a citizenship, which is so cool, but he's still, I mean, dude is six, five and very South African, has a really thick accent. And it's so awesome for him to walk around and not feel like an outsider. He's like, oh my gosh, everybody's different here. And just the hustle and the bustle and honestly, we don't want to leave. I'm like, All right,

we got to figure out a way to stay because I love it here. Yeah, no, you're you're here for good. I mean, that show last night was so much fun. You know what I loved about six and I want you to explain to people what six is about because you would you believe Danielle invited me to go I've heard of it but I had no idea I literally didn't even like research before you went I went in completely blind I'm like six okay we're going to six but like usually I would research like what am I going to a show what is this about I went in blind and would you believe on the way there I didn't even ask anyone I didn't even say like well because I was like fun night out with the girls. We're gonna go see Kelsey. It's gonna be fun. I didn't

think to say like, well, what is six actually? Like, what's it about? So yeah, explain because I figured it out while you guys were talking. I was like, holy shit, this is about Henry the eighth. You know, yes. Yes. I'm so well, thank God you got it from the show. That means we're doing our job. Yeah, I did I figured it out slowly Yes. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, okay King Henry the eighth Was um a heck of a king with a reputation. He had six wives Most of them were either divorced beheaded or died. There's only one that survived him so the entire show is the history,

quite accurate history, of the six wives. And the premise of the show, it's very much a concert style. So we're the only six people on stage the whole time. We're backing each other up, BGVs the whole time. There's four band members in the back. And the premise is who had the worst life? Which wife had the biggest issues to deal with

with King Henry VIII? And it's like set up as this competition. So we're interacting with the audience, we're able to look at the audience and it's like, all right, you're gonna vote for me because I clearly had the worst life. And there's a really cool twist at the end, but each queen is based on a different pop star.

So, and we have like our queen's inspiration. So I know mine is Celine Dion. That's like who my queen's inspiration is. And that's who I felt every time. And let me just like interrupt for one second. Every one of you have an amazing voice and you all had your own little like unique style. But Kelsey, you had the ballad in the show and it makes the hair on your arm stand up. When you sang that, and you can hear it in the audience when they applaud, it's insane. It's insane. It's probably my favorite part of the whole entire show is when you sing that ballad. And all the girls were so amazing and talented. They really were, but that ballad

is just, it's different, right? It's different Everything else that was going on. Okay, so continue I mean and it really it really is the it's the moment of the show where Jane Seymour the character that I play is Known as the one that he truly loved so I didn't know a lot about this history either. And I've learned so much about it because the show originated in the UK and the people that wrote it were very historically accurate.

So they're very cheeky with like the little things within the show. But that's why I think they gave Jane the song that she has is because she was the one he truly loved. Like he was buried next to her. She gave him a son. He was like, this is my person. And so it really is a very sentimental part. It's a devastating song, but she really finds like her strength and what I love about her character is I get to lean into her awkwardness. She's kind of like quirky a little bit and I get to lean into her awkwardness. She's kind of like quirky a little bit and I get to lean into the quirkiness

that I just naturally have because I'm naturally very awkward sometimes. And so it's what it makes you. Yeah, it just makes it so much fun. So, you know, there's a lot of lights, a lot of different dancing styles and it's great for all ages. You know, you see a lot of kids in there and and it's great for all ages. You see a lot

of kids in there and they're just having the time of their lives. And then if people aren't big musical theater buffs, it's only an hour and a half, it's pop music, there's no intermission, it's quick. So you can also bring people that are new to theater as well. It really reaches a lot of people. I went in blind not knowing that it didn't have like the intermission also or any of that. And I was like, I kind of liked it. I was like, wait, wow, like that was fun. And it was quick.

It wasn't like, you know, what was it? Like an hour and a half? Is that how long it was? Yes, an hour and a half. Yeah, and I kind of, I enjoyed that. I was like, it's good if you just want to see a little something and then hit dinner after. Yes, like you still have time to do that.

Yes, you were telling me something yesterday about like boot camp. Was that for the acting? Did they put you into like a boot camp for acting? Is that what that was? Or was it like a Broadway boot camp? It was like a sixth musical boot camp. So they brought us in. So there were probably three or four girls per part that were all in this bootcamp. And for the whole week, we worked on specific types of choreography, dance styles, and then we would have one-on-ones with the creative directing team, with the musical team, and then with the dance team. So it was really diving into the show and making everybody kind of see, okay, this is

your lane, this is your lane, this is what we can work on. And yeah. Do you ever feel like the six of you kind of have to vibe off the crowd as well? So like, do you get like a dull crowd? I mean, that's a that's a big theater. And I know my husband does comedy once in a while and sometimes you feed you feed off the audience if they're like, you know Do you?

Yes, like some are standing up and like going nuts summer Right. That's a real thing. No, it is Yes, and it's such a fine line because now if I'm doing a Kelsey Watts show if I'm just going on I'm Performing I mean I feed off of the crowd, I talk to the crowd, I work with the crowd, you know, and you can do different things to kind of work with them. This show is such a fine line because you're still playing a character. So I can't go be Kelsey Watts in the show.

I have to go be Jane Seymour in this show. Right. But so you're Jane Seymour interacting with the crowd, interacting with the audience. And yes, there's, I totally get some people can really be enjoying it and they're just not vocal. They they're just not vocal. But you see some people that are some people just chill and I listen, I know this whether it be like a like a live podcast, whatever it is, the crowd kind of, and you guys are always performing for a live audience. So I was like thinking that last night. I'm like,

what if you get a crowd that's just not into it? Obviously you have to keep your energy up, but it's kind of a bummer. It is. I'm not going to lie. It really is. And I try so hard to not let the audience dictate how I'm feeling about my performance, but it's very difficult to do because what you want as a performer, like you want that reaction. It's almost like a validation that the audience is enjoying it. And so it gives you the energy to continue to do it because we do eight shows a week on top of rehearsals, on top of just like trying to like recover and go to physical therapy. And so when you do the show so many times and you get audiences that are loud and excited

and they like respond, you're like, yes. And it gives you the energy to give it like your all, you know, like we'll always give a great performance but I think it's different whenever there's like a spirit inside of the actor because you're responding to like how excited the audience is. And it just gives it even that much more of an elevation. 100%.

I think anyone who gets on a stage would validate that as well. It's just a thing, right? So listen guys, when you're in the audience, everyone needs to just like, you know, vibe with the people. No matter where you're going, I don't care where you're going.

Exactly. It doesn't have to be Broadway. Any show, boop and holler and smile and yeah. And if you hate it, you can just leave. That's okay. You can just, and that's fine. We won't be offended. Yeah. Keep it moving. Yeah. So I always hear this of like warmups before a show. Is there anything the cast of Six

does before the show? Do you guys do anything together? Any like fun warmups or do, I know you do your own makeup, which I was I'm like, Wow, because your makeup was amazing with all your glitter eyeshadow. You did a good job. And I'm like, what if you're not good at doing makeup? I didn't really do your own makeup. I was like, wow. I know it'd be it'd be rough. Thankfully, they provide all of the makeup that we use and each of us have a color. So we have to stay within the colors of our queen for our makeup. So I have to have silver, black, white, any kind of thing in that world, and I can make it work. But before shows, it's so funny, because we all get to the

theater, or like different times, people have their different schedules and vibes. And but you walk in, and once we're all there, you hear everybody warming up differently in the room. So if you go just like stand in the hallway you hear someone going yeah and it's all these funny noises coming out of it sounds hilarious but on stage before all of us will get in the circle before every show and it kind of allows us to just like take a breath with each other. And we all hold hands and we like send a squeeze around the circle.

And we each just have to feel the energy and someone says one, someone says two, someone says three, and we count to six. And if two people say it at the same time, then we have to start over until we get it right. I actually love that. It's like the Queen's vibing before they get out on the stage. Yes. It really does. And it allows us to kind of like, okay, cool. Here we are. We're together. Because it has to be a vibe between all six of us. We're actually friends and that type

of chemistry. You guys work off each other the whole time you're on that stage. They're all working off each other. 100%. On display with Melissa Gorgas is brought to you by Progressive Insurance. Fiscally responsible, financial geniuses, monetary magicians, these are things people say about drivers

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on car insurance. Progressive casualty insurance company and affiliates, potential savings will vary. Not available in all states or situations. If you had the chance to pick your dream castmate and like any major celeb or who are you going to pick? Who is your person that you're like, I'm pulling them onto this cast and I can't believe that I'm performing next to them?

Who's that person? Oh my gosh. Like Broadway celebrity? Well, whatever you want. I mean listen, I see a lot of celebs that end up on Broadway that never- Honestly, you're not wrong. Lady Gaga, it would be incredible.

I would lose my frickin' mind. You know I knew you were gonna say that. Is that crazy? I can feel that you would love Lady Gaga. I can just sense that from you. Yes, she's so, I've forever and always been such a fan and she's such an inspiration and I love her creativity and her artisticness and she can just do whatever she wants and it's amazing. She is like an anomaly. I don't understand it.

She really is. Last question about Six is I am so baffled by the grueling schedule. And this is just for all Broadway, I'm sure. You basically have to be there six days a week, live with a voice that works. I mean, how do you even prep for that? There's gotta be days when you wake up and you're like, oh my God, like your voice is gone. Or so how do you, what happens on days like that?

I always wonder the backstage shit. I wanna know all the back stuff. Yeah, well that's the most fun part. Yeah, like the behind the scenes that people don't really get to see all the time. So no lie, yesterday was one of those days for me. I woke up and my throat hurt so badly. I did nothing differently.

I hadn't eaten anything different. I was like, what the heck is happening? And I'm new to New York and the New York air and the seasons here changed differently and I've never had allergies and now I have allergies. And you know, as a singer, you have to like, your nose has to resonate and your mouth is a resonator and your throat's a, like all of this up here has to work.

I can't just go up there and hope to God something comes out. So that on top of the schedule, it's a lot. I mean, we're doing eight shows a week and right now we're doing eight shows a week and right now We're doing the doubles back-to-back. So Saturdays and Sundays are both doubles So you go Friday night to Saturday to Sunday and then one on Monday and then we have Tuesdays off

And so during the week, I'm actually I'm a pretty boring human We'll say ritualistic like, you know, I get home after the show. I go home immediately. I ice my knees and then I make sure I soak in Epsom salts for a little bit, make sure that I get the right foods in. I try to get 130 grams of protein every day, a gallon of water every day, steaming my voice every day. Because it is something where I think it was Nicole Scherzinger that

said, because she's in Sunset Boulevard right now. And she said, it's like the Olympics of performing and you have to be physically fit and also healthy because we're dancing in heels for an hour and a half on top of, you know, we're yelling and we're singing and you know, you're talking to people on the stage door afterwards and you have to, you really have to recover as hard as you train to perform. For sure. And there's no like, Oh wait, can I do that again? My voice craft.

It's kind of like, we get one take up there and it's like, that's it. And whatever goes. Yup. Exactly. It's like, well- Are your understudies, like, just, do they have to be at every show or they just know when they do? They do.

Okay. Yes. So we have four alternates and each of them cover three to four of us. So I have two girls that cover me. A couple of the other roles have three covers. It just depends on who they have. But they're at every single show because sometimes, it hasn't happened with our cast yet, but sometimes something will happen in the middle of a show and an alternate will have to hop on mid show. Wow. And so they're

there just in case something happens, but it is the most impressive thing. I don't think alternates get enough credit. I think they should be praised so hard because they know so many different roles just can hop in at the drop of a hat and they're all phenomenal. Like truly. They have to know all of your, like that's insane. They have to do more work than all of you. They're like, oh my God. I know. I'm like, my brain goes, how do you do that? And once, if anybody's seen the show or once you see the show, the amount of different formations we have in that hour

and a half. Oh yeah, all night long. Oh my gosh, how do you just like know this part or this part? And then they have to be able to drop into totally different characters. Because each of us have such different personalities on stage because of the character that, you know,

somebody that covers me and Bo-Lin, the green one, they're not going to play our characters the same. They have to be two completely different people. So it's, I don't know, man, I don't know how they do it, but it's- Well, shout out to the alternates for showing. Yeah, shout out to all the alternates. 100%. All right, Kelsey, what's next for you?

Is there a dream project or is there something that you're planning to do soon? I know we're going to talk about your new single that's about to drop also. What's your dream project? Tell me this first. In my wildest of wildest dreams, I would love to release an album and have a couple of collaborations on there with people like Lady Gaga, Jelly Roll. I mean, there's just, there's so many artists that I would love to be able to do a collaboration with, like Pink, I think that would be epic. Oh, my word, Rihanna, like, you know, like there's just, there's so many in there that I'm like, this would be epic. Billie Eilish, you know, so in a, in a dream world, I would love to be able to release an album collaborating with a couple

of my favorite artists. It's going to happen. We're going to manifest it. It's going to happen. Yes. Yes, Melissa, we are manifesting it. I'm very happy I'm manifesting. You just keep talking it.

It's going to happen. And look, you are moot. Like it's just all, I feel like you're that girl and you're good hearted and I feel like good things happen to good people, by the way. What about this single that you have? You have a new single. It's called Fit In and it's dropping on June 20th, right? It is.

I am so excited. Melissa, I'm so excited. Like, real talk. I cannot wait because it is, you know, as an artist, and I think any creative will understand this, it takes so much time and effort to really craft like who you are. Like, yes, I'm Kelsey Watts, but what does Kelsey Watts' music sound like? What does that world like?

You know, you step into Beyonce's world, you know what you're getting. You step into Lady Gaga's world, you know what you're getting. Sabrina Carpenter, you know what you're getting. Like, you know, Ariana Grande, you have, they all have their worlds. And so even though I know who I am as an artist, and I know what I wanna say and the sound I wanna have, they all have their worlds. And so even though I know who I am as an artist, and I know

what I want to say and the sound I want to have, crafting that takes so much time. And I feel like this is the song that I am fully in. It's very pop rock, like it's kind of like older school Demi Lovato or Pink Meets Rihanna kind of vibes. A lot of guitar, but still very pop. And I love the sound. And then I love the message. Like I was never cool, okay? I never had a date to prom. I wasn't invited to the parties.

Like I was in theater and choir and I had friends, but I was picked on and I just, you know, I've never had a boyfriend. I mean, my gosh, I don't think I dated until like well into college, like maybe after college, you know, I've never had a boyfriend. I mean, my gosh, I don't think I dated until like well into college, like maybe after college, you know, so I just, I wasn't, I just wasn't that person. And I always wanted to fit in. I wanted to be invited. I wanted to, you know, have the cool friends or be able to fit into their clothes and, you know, have a date. And I just never did. And it took me so long to finally accept I am me.

And I don't need to be like anybody else. I am perfect just the way I am. And so why am I trying to fit in with these people? When I already do, I already fit in. Because I'm me, and I'm not trying to be in somebody else's box. So that's what this song is about. That's why it's called fit in.

It's like, why are you trying so hard to fit in when you already do? And that's such like a message that I want people to grasp from my artistry and what I have to give them is you belong. I don't care who you are. I don't care what you look like, what your history is, what your life is like,

who you are, you belong with me, where I am. That's a strong message. That's a strong message. That's a very strong, I feel like, and who would have thought, just by meeting you, you would have never thought you went through any of these things in life, or that you weren't the coolest kid in the school

your whole entire life, because that's how you totally come across, you're like this very warm and amazing personality. Well listen, I absolutely loved getting to know you better. You are a complete superstar. I have had a couple people, I've said this with someone else before, I think it was Matt Rogers, that in the beginning of his career, he was on the podcast and he was on my podcast a couple times and I always said I used to say to my producer, this one's this one's gonna go big like he I'm like this one's gonna be big he's gonna he's this I see like something with and sure enough he is everywhere right now he's doing everything he's everywhere

and I'm putting it out there again I say this this with you. I think you're going to be a huge star. You're so talented. Soon as people start to really hear your voice more and more, and when you drop this single, it's over. It's over, girlfriend. Yeah. You're awesome. I'll always see that.

And thank you for real. Thank you for your encouragement. Of course. It's so encouraging to be able to just not only hang out with you on the podcast. like that's incredible and I'm so grateful, but also just to be able to hang out with you, like, and like get y'all's encouragement last night. And it's very, it's just, it's really a happy feeling. I'm just, I still am just can't believe I'm here. Honestly, it's wild.

Well, believe it. You're here and you're talented and I need to bring my sisters back to see your show. They're going to absolutely love it. Yes, I'm doing're talented and I need to bring my sisters back to see your show. They're gonna Yes, I'm doing that next. My sisters love Broadway. We always go see shows together. So this is the next one I'm taking them to see so I'll be back. I'll be back. All right, Kelsey You got to give a little taste of this voice to my listeners. Will you sing a little something for them, please? Oh my gosh. Yes. I keep on falling. Out of love with you. Yes. Oh my god. It's ridiculous. Yeah, it's not fair. So good. Thank you. So good. So guys, if you're in New York, definitely go check out Kelsey on Broadway.

The show is called Six and it's amazing. And be sure to pre-save Kelsey's single fit in on Spotify, iTunes, Amazon Music. It's everywhere. Kelsey, love you so much. You're amazing. And I wish you all the luck in the world and hopefully I see you soon. Yeah. Ciao. Guys, what is up? My name is Tom Schwartz.

Some of you might know me from Vanderpump Rules. We had 11 wonderful, beautiful, strange seasons together. You've seen me at some of my worst. And now I want to show you some of my best. Welcome to my new show detox re talks on podcast one. So what are we doing here? Well, we're striving for balance in an ever extreme world. Each week we celebrate the dance between indulgence and moderation. And I want to level up together. And I don't want to

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