Surprise Phone Call Made All the Difference for Apple Valley Resident on NBC's 'The Voice'

The call–from a strange California number—came in while Dustin Hatzenbuhler was mowing the grass.

So Hatzenbuhler did what many do; he screened the caller.

It wasn't until he checked the message moments later that the Apple Valley resident realized he'd just missed an out-of-the-blue call from a producer on NBC's "The Voice". The producer, Hatzenbuhler said, wanted him to audition for the show.

"Nobody was around, and nobody was in my house, and I was just like 'I can't tell anybody about this right now, I was just too full of excitement," Hatzenbuhler said.

Hatzenbuhler, who made it to the nationally televised blind auditions, performed Michael Bublés' "Haven’t Met You Yet" in an episode aired last week.

Click here to check out Dustin Hatzenbuhler's music.

Although Hatzenbuhler, who lives in Apple Valley and works part time at the community center, wasn't selected by the four celebrity judges, the experience was certainly a positive one, he said.

Hatzenbuhler began singing in middle school, and took voice lessons from coach John Lynn for years before striking out on his own to pursue music after high school. The artist, who favors blues and R&B artists like Ray Charles, Gavin DeGraw and others, released his first album in 2012.

That music, and performance videos on YouTube, caught the eye of NBC recruiters, who call Hatzenbuhler and encouraged him to try out for the show, Hatzenbuhler said. He bypassed the open call tryouts, and made it through the executive auditions last year. In September and October, he traveled to Los Angeles for his blind audition.

The performance—in front of a large audience and celebrity judges Shakira, Usher, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine—was nerve-wracking, even for someone used to being on stage.

"You're excited, and you’re exhausted form meetings and rehearsals, and you’re preparing for those 90 seconds that you’ll have to showcase severy single thing that your voice can do," Hatzenbuhler said.

"I tried to keep telling myself this is like any other show," Hatzenbuhler said. 'I honestly don’t remember any of it; I feel like I blacked out for the entire time."

None of the four judges turned their chair around and selected Hatzenbuhler, which was disappointing for the young artist. But that disappointed was quickly replaced by a sense of accomplishment.

"I thought, 'Wait a second, look at what I’m doing right now. This is pretty awesome regardless of what just happened," Hatzenbuhler said. "I went from feeling disappointed to feeling really happy about where I was and what I was doing."

Hatzenbuhler said the exposure from the show has been a boon to his growing musical career, and validating as an artist. He plans to produce a second album this fall.

"I’m just riding the wave right now to capitlize on new listeners," Hatzenbuhler said.