| Alumni
The roar of the crowd could be heard from backstage. Music icons were waiting to hear them sing, along with the rest of America. As the seconds ticked down to the biggest performance in any of their young careers, the trio bowed their heads in prayer.
“It was a make or break moment,” said Emily Clapp, one-third of the Trevecca-made band DEK of Hearts. “We were taking a risk jumping right into three-part harmony.”
As Emily walked onto “The Voice” stage with her bandmates Dylan John and Kollin Bailey, they hummed their starting note to prepare to hit their harmonies. A single chair turn could drastically change their lives.
A deep breath, a count-in, and they began to sing.
Almost immediately, a chair turned to face them. Then another. And another. And another. In just a verse or so, the trio found themselves singing directly to music superstars Reba McEntire, Michael Buble, Snoop Dogg and Niall Horan.
“I think I blacked out,” Emily said. “We genuinely were just praying for a one chair turn. I don’t have a clear memory of the performance or anything the coaches said.”
But before Season 28 of “The Voice,” before Team Niall and before the national spotlight, there were just three singing friends on Trevecca Nazarene University’s campus.
Connecting on the Hill
Kollin Bailey still remembers touring Trevecca’s campus and meeting two students in Trevecca’s Nineteen|01 coffee shop—Emily and her future husband, Chris. “I remember thinking, wow, if everybody that goes to school here is like them, then I want to go to school here,” Kollin said.
On campus, their circles overlapped through Trevecca’s public relations (PR) ministry teams: Emily and Kollin traveled with Refuge; Dylan John traveled with Awaken alongside Chris. Friendship came first, music second.
“The first time I saw Dylan was on the steps of McClurkan,” Kollin recalled. “He sang an Ed Sheeran song. I was like, gosh, this guy is so good.”
Their first trio moment came almost by accident. At a senior recital, Kollin asked Dylan and Emily to sing Lady A’s “What If I Never Get Over You.”
“It felt so right,” Emily said. And people noticed. But the three wouldn’t become a band until nearly a year later.
The three become close
After graduation in May 2023, the trio stayed connected—sharing meals, pickleball games and occasional harmony cameos at each other’s individual gigs.
“We were best friends before the band started, and I didn’t want to mess that up,” Kollin said. “I’d heard horror stories of friends starting bands and not being able to even be in the same room later.”
They talked it through, even joking about “band counseling,” and ultimately stepped forward in faith.
“I don’t really remember a time that felt like, ‘This is the defining moment,’” said Kollin. “The closest thing to me is in April when we opened for Rhonda.”
In April 2024 they opened for Rhonda Vincent, a connection formed from an internship Kollin had previously done with the Grammy-winning artist.
“Even at that show we were like, are we doing this? Do we even have a name?” Emily laughed. “It felt like if we walk on this stage as a trio, we’re introducing ourselves to the world—and it’s going to be really awkward if we go back on it. So are we good? All hearts clear?”
All hearts were indeed clear, and soon after, as one band, they leaned into four-hour bar sets three to four nights a week, all while holding full-time jobs. That grind, they say, became their boot camp.
An Instagram ad for “The Voice,” on the last day to submit, nudged the next step. “We kind of went out on a limb,” Dylan said. They recorded a quick cover of “Heads Carolina, Tails California,” navigated callbacks, then waited. And waited… and waited some more.
“I remember texting the boys like, surely they’ve forgotten about us—surely they lost our email,” Emily said. “We were like, we’re definitely not on the show.”
And then came February 10. The call came telling the trio to pack their bags and head for California. Ironic, considering their audition song.
“I remember falling to the floor in complete unbelief,” Emily said.
Four chairs and Team Niall
Walking onstage on “The Voice,” the trio had a plan—but open hands. The plan involved a choice not many people would have guessed.
“Niall knows what it’s like to be a contestant,” Emily said. “He knows more than anyone what it’s like to be in a group, so it just felt like he was the best choice overall.”
That group was of course One Direction, one of the most successful bands of all time, and arguably the most successful product to arise from musical talent shows. Because of his experience, the trio believes in Niall. But that belief isn’t just one-sided.
“He thanked us for believing in him,” Kollin added. “I’m like, no, no—thank you for believing in us! I’ve really respected how he has treated us both on and off the camera. He has made us feel super prepared for the moments ahead.”
“I think that since we are his first group ever, I feel like he has a special place in his heart for us,” Emily added.
“He likes to call us the ‘wall of sound,’” Dylan said with a laugh.
Breaking out
After the successful blind audition show, recorded in July, the group was forced to keep it a secret until the episode aired a few months later. “It was tough,” Emily said. “There were a lot of people in our lives that had no idea what we were doing.”
Finally, after months of waiting, a September 4 commercial before the opening kickoff of the 2025 NFL season broke the news. Of all the auditions that could’ve been previewed, “The Voice” chose DEK of Hearts.
“Our phones were blowing up,” Kollin said. “That’s when it felt real.”
Their first big dose of hype continued into the band’s October Whiskey Jam debut in Nashville. “People had driven across state lines,” Kollin said. People came from Georgia, Minnesota, Utah, even Canada asking for photos and autographs—a first for all three of them.
Emily admitted: “I had to quickly practice my signature.”
The Trevecca influence
All three band members credit Trevecca with shaping their craft and their calling.
Dylan, a commercial music major with an emphasis in voice, learned the Nashville number system on PR and through songwriting with professor Kim McLean. “I hadn’t had a formal music education. Trevecca was the first time I learned how to communicate with a band.”
Emily, a worship arts major and social work minor, discerned her call to ministry in a new context. “Now I’m doing ministry in the country world. We try to spread the gospel at all of our shows.”
For Kollin, a music business major, Trevecca was a place where he found reps—and resolve. “Trevecca gave us a space to goof around and be creative. PR prepared us to be in a band. It made what we do now easier.”
The trio is thankful to Trevecca’s faculty and staff for all the ways they’ve shown up throughout the band’s story—Jeff Cox connecting them to producer and alum Nick Schwarz, and Misty Diehl shepherding PR students like family.
They also noted support from Trevecca leadership, including University President Dr. Dan Boone, First Lady Denise Boone, University Chaplain Erik Gernand and Director of Chapel Worship Ashley Gernand, who have invited them back to campus and even requested unreleased originals.
“It means the world that they believe in us enough to ask us to play our own music that isn’t even released,” Emily said.
What’s next
Outside of “The Voice,” DEK of Hearts is working towards releasing an EP. And the dream? “To play the Grand Ole Opry,” Emily said.
On “The Voice,” DEK of Hearts advances next to the knockout rounds, which air throughout November. With luck, that could be followed by playoffs and then live performances. Fans can follow their journey on “The Voice” app and @dekofhearts across social platforms.
For Dylan, Emily and Kollin, this moment is bigger than music or TV—it's about calling, friendship and faith. And they pledge to keep their outlook the same: friends first, ministry always.
“It’s our dream to do it for a really long time,” Emily said.
“We’re just three normal people who decided one day to make music. We hope Trevecca students see that it’s possible for them, too. Say yes to opportunities that feel a little uncomfortable—they always pay off in the end.”
Follow DEK of Hearts
Instagram / Facebook / TikTok: @DEKofHearts
Tour dates & merch: DEKofHearts.com