Brothers Walker of Bernie, Mo., advance on 'The Voice'

When pop star and The Voice "coach" Usher turned his chair Monday night, a lifelong dream for two Southeast Missourians came one step closer to reality.

Coty and Clinton Walker, twins known in the region as the Brothers Walker, walked on stage Monday night and lit into "Keep Me in Mind" by the Zac Brown Band.

Through almost the entire song, the judges failed to spin their chairs. But with only a moment to go, Usher hit his button, selecting the Bernie, Mo., duo for his team.

After making his selection, Usher suggested to the brothers they might find it odd he chose them to continue on the show because another judge, Blake Shelton, is a country music star.

"Awesome would be the word I'd use to describe it, actually," Clint Walker said.

Coty and Clinton Walker on stage as young boys. (Courtesy)

When asked where they were from, the brothers told them of their hometown of Bernie, in southern Stoddard County.

"We have a stop light," Coty said. "It just flashes, though. It doesn't actually go green or red. It's just yellow, and it flashes."

Usher commented on the twins' future, with or without music.

"If music doesn't work out for you, you guys definitely have the personality," Usher said.

Usher said he was excited about working in a genre that was outside of his comfort zone.

"I'm no authority on country music, but what I do know is quality," Usher said. "For me, this is gonna be one of the most incredible experiences ever because I get a chance to work in an area that I respect but I've never necessarily touched."

"I can't wait," Clinton said.

Born identical twins, the Walker brothers do not come from a family with a history of music. But their parents, Tom and Carol Walker, knew there was something special about their sons' talent.

The brothers still remember the first time they sang in front of a large crowd.

"At four years old, we sang the national anthem at a high school basketball game," Coty said in an interview last year with The Daily Statesman.

Their mother drove them around to sing at various functions. Of all the shows they performed as boys, they said the coolest experience was singing with Johnny Cash at a show in Branson, Mo.

"That's where we learned about harmony," Coty said. "We each have half of a voice. When we sing separately, it's like something is missing. Together we sound so much more full."

Clinton said sometimes that can be confusing to other people.

"On our records, most people can't tell who is singing," he said. "Sometimes we switch up line by line in a song. The harmony just sounds so much better."

In their early teens, the brothers began their first band, Sense the Fall. They sang Christian rock and gospel music throughout the area. Anyone who saw them during that period might be taken aback by their change in style.

"Now we're doing country music," Coty said. "But that all started as an accident."

When the brothers opened their downtown Bernie recording studio, the majority of people coming to record were playing country music. The brothers had little to no experience with the genre.

"We thought we should do sort of a commercial," Coty said. "We decided to write a country song and shoot a video so potential customers could see what we could do for them. It really wasn't intended to be about us."

The video and song to which they refer is called "The Life." It gained regional popularity almost instantly.

"The phone just started ringing off the hook," Clinton said.

Coty said it created a predicament.

"Well, we had these people calling to book us for country shows, and we didn't know any country music or even covers," he said. "We had this one song at that point. Then we got a call asking us to open up for Travis Tritt at the Black River Coliseum, and we decided we'd better learn some country music -- fast."

They had four weeks to prepare. That meant putting together a band, learning country music and coming up with an extra song or two of their own.

"It was an awesome experience," Clinton said.

The brothers insist they are trying to do the same thing they did as boys.

"We keep everything Christ-centered," Coty said. "We've always gathered at church to witness to others, but this gives us the opportunity to witness to people in other places where the people are."

They pointed out a large portion of their audience is under 21, so playing in bars would cut out half of their fan base.

"We want to play where everyone can come," Clinton said. "Music is such an inspirational thing. We love to entertain, but we're also here to share the message of Jesus Christ."

The Brothers Walker can be followed on Twitter at @BrothersWalker and on Facebook.

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