Gabrielle “Gabby” Zabosky, 25, of Glenside, received a four-chair turn on a Season 26 episode of NBC’s “The Voice”, which aired Monday, October 7.

Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Michael Buble, and Reba McEntire each tried their best to woo Zabosky following her performance of Kelly Clarkson’s “Mr. Know It All”. As she swiveled away from the audience, McEntire blocked Snoop from recruiting Zabosky onto his team.

After a few hand-wringing moments, Zabosky went with Team Gwen. Check out the clip from Monday’s show:

An Oxford, Pennsylvania native, Zabosky said what anyone in her position would say about the experience: A dream come true.

“I had been living in Stroudsburg for four years and had never been in Los Angeles before. I absolutely loved it,” she said. “I would 100 percent live there. The climate isn’t so great for the vocal cords but there are remedies to that. We got down to business pretty quickly.”

The onboarding process consisted of “interviews, wardrobes, and glam,” she said. “The whole thing was incredible.”

Her audition was submitted sometime within the last two years (“I honestly don’t remember when I submitted it,” she said). At the time, she thought she’d throw her hat in the ring for fun. And then she kind of forgot about it.

“It was not on my mind in any type of way. I was eating by myself at a Red Lobster when I heard from NBC. I was one margherita down and then got the call that I’d been accepted onto the show,” she said. “I ran around and jumped up and down, I was so excited.”

A former member of Wal-Mart’s first-ever acapella group—dubbed “SparkAppella”, circa 2019-2020—professional auditions were nothing new to her.

“I was at work one day, and they announced an acapella challenge. I auditioned and was chosen along with 11 others from all over the United States,” Zabosky said. “We were flown out to Arkansas where Wal-Mart originated and we were worked in a really nice studio and made a whole bunch of acapella covers and music videos.

“We got to work with Cupid of the ‘Cupid Shuffle’ and then we did a ‘Wal-Mart Shuffle,’” she said.

“We also made our own Christmas album and I co-wrote one of the songs. We were planning to make another music video. Then Covid hit, so they ended up flying a team out to me to do the last music video that I appeared in,” she said. “I was still co-writing songs.”

The acapella gig eventually next landed her in Nashville, Tennessee to perform on Good Morning America.

“We did a little Black Friday sales jingle, too,” she said. “My first performance in front of an audience was in a fourth-grade talent show. I sang ‘Love Story’ by Taylor Swift. In high school, I was involved in chorus, women’s ensemble, music honor society. Theater. Everything.”

Her first appearance in Glenside came in June after her boyfriend, Samad Mordant, relocated to the area in May.

“It’s beautiful here and it’s a clean area. Pennsylvania is my home,” she said. “This is where I’ve lived my whole life, so coming back from all of the energy and excitement in L.A. felt grounding to me.”
Mordant and Zabosky out on the town
Mordant has been enjoying the Glenside lifestyle in between flights to L.A. to support Zabosky.

“Overall, life here has been positive, pleasant experience. It’s perfectly placed. We’re in close proximity to so many things,” he said. “I love the local theaters, the restaurants, the little pubs. It’s a great area to run and get some exercise. I appreciate that.

“I’m super proud of Gabby,” he said. “Going out there was overwhelming to a certain degree. At times, I was speechless. It felt surreal.”

He was able to rub elbows with stardom in L.A., if only briefly. At the same time, witnessing “The Voice” in real-time was a reminder that celebrities are only human after all.

“They’re just people, but when you see them all garbed up, they look more like a like celebrity, if that makes sense. The personalities of each coach, their energies together and towards other people were amazingly pleasant,” Mordant said. “It altered my perception of fame. It didn’t seem as glamorous in person. They’re just normal people with flaws and talents like everyone else. What you see on television looks amazing. It was very different when we were actually there.”

Zabosky agrees.

“I felt like I could be myself around them. They were positive and encouraging and said things that are going to benefit me,” she said. “They all turned, they all wanted me, which was incredible. I didn’t think I was going to get one, I convinced myself of that about halfway through.”

“I had intentions to choose Snoop Dogg for sure, but Gwen was my top choice from the start,” she said. “She’s who I wanted the most.”

After her final performance airs in the coming weeks, she plans to continue to release her own music and keep working on her artistry.

Family and hometown support have kept her phone vibrating ever since Monday’s episode.

“My hometown is going crazy. It’s been insane there. People are coming out of the woods to support me. Sometimes I have to put it all down, but there’s so much love,” she said.

Zabosky’s next appearance will be on Monday, October 14 at 8:00 on NBC.