Roster of ‘The Voice’ finalists includes former isle resident
Former Honolulu resident Cheesa Laureta has survived the blind auditions segment of the NBC reality show "The Voice" and will now compete as a finalist during the show’s second season.
Laureta, 21, will be part of Team Cee Lo and will receive mentoring from the singer-songwriter, rapper, producer and actor. Cee Lo’s team has a dozen contestants, all of whom he will mentor. They will have to compete against three other teams headed by Christina Aguilera, Blake Shelton and Adam Levine.
Laureta left Hawaii when she was 15 to pursue her singing career. She and her older brother, who is also an entertainer, moved to Los Angeles.
Laureta has described herself as a huge Beyoncé fan and performed the star’s "If I Were a Boy" during her audition Monday.
"What’s your name, you wonderful thing, you?" Cee Lo asked her after he had chosen the singer to be on his team.
"You have a great voice. This is a platform unparalleled. You can go from here to be everything you were meant to be."
The show format features three phases: a blind audition, a competitive phase and, finally, live performances. During the blind auditions, the judges chose their team members solely on what they could hear.
"The Voice" airs Mondays at 8 p.m. on KHNL.
Teen rooted in Hawaiian music earns praise on ‘American Idol’
LOS ANGELES » Hawaiian music performer Deandre Brackensick, 17, of San Jose, Calif., impressed "American Idol" judges Tuesday night with Earth Wind & Fire‘s "Reasons."
"Your voice is so perfect to me," Jennifer Lopez beamed to Brackensick.
Although the teenager was born and raised in California, he has sung in the traditional falsetto style with Starr Kalahiki, Na Palapalai and other Hawaii performers, and danced hula at the Merrie Monarch Festival.
The show also saw the judges give "gentle giant" Jermaine Jones, 25, of Pine Hill, N.J., a second shot after he was dismissed in the Las Vegas auditions. Jones was lauded for his take on Luther Vandross‘ "Dance with My Father" during Tuesday’s performances from the 13 male semifinalists.
The top 12 female singers will perform today, and then all the top 25 semifinalists will learn Thursday whether they received enough votes to be among the viewer-selected top 10 or one of the three "wild card" finalists picked by the show’s judges.
