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Thanks to Burger King, Duncan Kamakanaonakuahiwi Osorio is now a contestant on NBC’s "The Voice," who will sing again on next week’s episodes after his successful blind audition.
The Kamehameha Schools graduate said it was his 30-second spot for the fast-food chain that helped him get an audition for the show.
In a phone interview Friday, Osorio said, "Somebody from ‘The Voice’ saw it in her hotel room at the Sheraton Waikiki and found out I was playing at RumFire (the hotel’s bar). She later came downstairs and sat through my set, approached me during a break and said, ‘I can recommend you to get a private audition to the show.’"
The 25-year-old beat out more than 50,000 people to win a spot in the blind auditions that aired a couple of weeks ago. "To get to the top 48, it’s quite an accomplishment," he said.
Osorio said he wasn’t surprised when he saw that his performance was edited down and relegated to a 30-second montage when broadcast.
"My back story is related to my dad (Hawaii musician Jon Osorio), who helped me get to where I am today. But my dad wasn’t there with me for that audition in L.A., so the production didn’t have a lot to work with concerning me."
So his battle round against a fellow singer from his coach Adam Levine’s team will be the nation’s first impression of who Duncan Kamakana (his performer name) is as a singer.
"The show obviously gives me an opportunity to do something bigger," he said. "Leading up to next week, I’ve been very surprised at how much support I’ve gotten over my 10 seconds of airtime. It’s meant a lot to me, especially those who’ve gotten behind me back home."
"The Voice" airs at 7 p.m. Monday and Tuesday on KHNL/NBC.
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COURTESY NBC