Filipina/American Oscar-nominated actress-turned-pop star Hailee Steinfeld performed a cover of Justin Bieber’s “Love Yourself” on the Hamish & Andy radio show earlier this week. Hailee was better known as an actress after being nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in True Grit opposite Jeff Bridges. She's grown up a bit since that role and hangs out with BFF Taylor Swift, appearing in Swift's award-winning music video Bad Blood. When Hailee got a role in Pitch Perfect 2, she surprised most of her fans with her singing ability. After signing with Republic Records, she cut a single, Love Myself, that might be considered controversial in some circles.
She is reprising her role in Pitch Perfect 3 where her singing will be on display again along with castmate Anna Kendrick and helmed once again by Elizabeth Banks. The film will be released in 2017.
Amy Vachal went for honest emotion in her semifinal number on The Voice.
AMY VACHAL and her coach Adam Levine chose Bob Dylan's "To Make You Feel My Love" for her semi-final performance.
While singing, she seemed to really get caught up in the emotion to the point of almost losing control. I hope the audience saw it the same way and didn't interpret that slight blip as a mistake.
All the other artists' performances were over the top, trying to hit a home run to impress the voters. In contrast, Amy opted for a quiet, sweet, emotional moment of honesty. It was like she was back in the coffee shops and bistros in Brooklyn. All that was missing was the proverbial brick wall in the background. Just a girl and her guitar (and two accompanying guitars.) So simple, so refreshing, the strategy just might work.
“That was nice. you’re voice seems like were what beautiful clouds are made of ... It was beautiful, it was light. And honestly, with all the crazy things going on all over the world, we need those crazy people to hear that voice,” said Pharrell Williams, "to see some clarity, to see some good. That's what your voice ignites, you know, like, somebody wants to do the right thing."
“The room just froze and stopped. All the energy in this room was focused on you. What’s special about you is, you do it in a way that is completely different and refreshingly raw,” said Adam Levine.
Once again, Jordan Smith seems to have knocked it out of the park with his interpretation of "Somebody to Love." He hit the big notes, had a full gospel choir as backup, hands-up in the air ending, standing ovation plus the production and song choice was a big nod to his voting base - the Christian vote. Do you think the producers' biases are showing?
As the judges made their comments, Amy looked resigned to whatever outcome the voters choose. It looks like Amy will have to duke it out for 2nd, 3rd or 4th with the other seven contestants to move into the finals.
Is her emotional performance enough to put her into the finals next week? "My goal is to touch hearts," she said before her performance. "I want to be real. I want to be me."
We'll find out Tuesday night how many hearts Amy touched.
The Eastern Seaboard has had a three-hour head start in the voting. Only a few more hours left to vote. All you Asian/American social networkers, its time to cast your votes.
How to vote on "The Voice"
There is a strict 14-hour voting window from the end of the show (between 9:55 p.m. ET on Monday to 12 p.m. ET Tuesday). That seems unfair for the voters on the West Coast because their voting period is done at 9 a.m. PST Tuesday. Voters from Hawaii, where Vachal is popular have an even shorter period to vote. Each person can vote up to 40 times total (10 votes per each of the four ways).
1. iTunes: downloading a song counts as 10 votes. (Bonus: if it reaches the top ten on the charts it gets multiplied by 10.) (1 download per person = 10 votes)
2. Facebook: vote on The Voice Facebook page via this link. (up to 10 times per person total)
3. The App : Download The Voice App on your phone (up to 10 times total)
AMY VACHAL, the Filipino/American songstress on The Voice singing competition, today (Dec. 7) will be facing her biggest test yet with a trip to the finals at stake. Hey, with all that's at stake, it's good to see she wakes up smiling (via Twitter).
The Top 9 semifinalists will be cut to the final four for the Dec. 14 finale. That means five contestants will be sent home; only four will survive for the finals. Vachal, 26, will have to do better than last week when she finished sixth.
"But this week, no matter what happens, I'm holding nothing back — I'm giving all of my heart," she said. "My one goal is that it touches hearts." She has been able to touch a lot of hearts in her months-long musical journey. From the first few notes in "Dream A Little Dream," that made three of the four coaches turn their chairs around wanting to mentor her, to her work with current coach Adam Levine, who ironically was the only coach not to turn around because he didn't have any room on his team, Vachal's subtle, sweet and sultry flips of the standards and pop hits have been highly praised.
Of the artists left in The Voice, Amy is the most distinctive and separates her from the rest. She has been able to pick songs and arrangements that take advantage of her soft, subtle jazzy interpretations of tunes. If the voting viewers based their picks on originality, Vachal would win hands down. But that's not the way most Voice viewers vote. For many, it comes down to musical tastes, between country, blues, spiritual or pop. Remarkably, Vachal has been able to travel this far without having to be categorized in any of those slots. While being unique is a good thing in the real world of music, not being easily categorized might work against her because she won't have any of those large bloc of voters pulling for her to win. Listen to Amy's performance in the Blind Audition and the judges' exuberant reaction:
When voting left the judges' hands and only 12 contestants were left, Amy was almost eliminated when her then coach, Pharrell Williams chose another contestant over Vachal. Levine became her coach when he "saved" her by putting her on his team. Under his tutelage, the two were clever enough to select current hit songs which were more familiar to the younger bloc of voters but given the special Amy Vachal interpretation.
Although Vachal has performed really well, I believe we still haven't seen her at her best. Besides being technically on point and outstanding creatively, hopefully she finds a way to connect emotionally with the audience to become the first Asian/American winner of one of television's singing contests. The Voice airs on NBC at 8 p.m./7 p.m. Central on Monday. It's a two-hour show tonight. The results will be revealed Tuesday.
How to vote on "The Voice"
There is a strict 14-hour voting window from the end of the show (between 9:55 p.m. ET on Monday to 12 p.m. ET Tuesday). That seems unfair for the voters on the West Coast because their voting period is done at 9 a.m. PST Tuesday. Voters from Hawaii, where Vachal is popular have an even shorter period to vote. Each person can vote up to 40 times total (10 votes per each of the four ways).
1. iTunes: downloading a song counts as 10 votes. (Bonus: if it reaches the top ten on the charts it gets multiplied by 10.) (1 download per person = 10 votes)
2. Facebook: vote on The Voice Facebook page via this link. (up to 10 times per person total)
3. The App : Download The Voice App on your phone (up to 10 times total)
OOPS! Don't be alarmed, but Amy Vachal slipped a little but she has enough standout talent to still win a spot among the Top 9 finalists on The Voice. But that little bit of slippage from top to middle of the pack could spell the difference of making it to the Dec. 14 finals or getting eliminated in the semi-finals next week when five of the remaining singers will be shown the door. Once again, the Filipino/American songbird took a pop song - "Bye, Bye, Bye" and transformed it into a haunting rendition of what N'Sync performed as an upbeat song that appealed to the preteen gaggle of girl fans. It should be noted that the N'Sync hit was a Grammy award winner way back in 2000. Most of those Tweenies are now in their late-20s/early 30s and have moved on musically. If they wanted to get nostalgic, they would download the original.
To Amy's credit, her performance was strong enough to garner the No. 8 spot in the iTunes download list during the voting period for the singing competition, so what do I know. No. 8 is good, but it was a drop from last week's No. 4 spot that she was able to get with her flip of Taylor Swift's "Blank Space," which is tops the charts NOW. Landing in the iTune's top ten is critical for Voice competitors because each download counts as a vote multiplied by 10. A word of caution, though, she had five other Voice contestants ahead of her. A similar drop in the voting next week could eliminate Vachal, At this stage, with the Dec. 7 semi-finals looming, song choice is critical. It's obvious that Amy and her coach, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine, is carving out a personality for the sultry singer, separating her from the rest of the crowd who are splitting the country, blues and rock voting bases. Her biggest challenge seems to be coming from favorite Jordan Smith, who is attracting the Christian voters with his song selection. This week, he did Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah" and despite the dicey lyrics open to interpretation, any song with the word "hallelujah" in the lyrics still gets interpreted as a religious tome.
As the competitors are winnowed down, it may come down to who can pick up the voters who backed the singers who have been dropped. Among the remaining contestants, Amy has shown that her ability to flip any song into something that shows off her smooth singing style. Here’s where everyone stood based on iTune downloads as of noon EST, when voting ended on Tuesday (Dec. 1):
2. Jordan Smith, “Hallelujah” 3. Barrett Baber, “I’d Just Love to Lay You Down” 4. Madi Davis, “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” 5. Emily Ann Roberts, “She’s Got You” 7. Jeffery Austin, “Jealous” 8. Amy Vachal, “Bye Bye Bye” 10. Shelby Brown, “Go Rest High on That Mountain” 20. Zach Seabaugh, “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” 27. Korin Bukowski, “Same Old Love” 113. Braiden Sunshine, “Radioactive”
In the end, Korin lost the sing-off to teenager Braiden.
So you can see, as good as Amy is artistically, she is not a sure bet to make it to the finals despite being adored by critics and highly praised by the coaches.
When asked how all the singers are getting along behind the scenes Amy says that the members of Team Adam are all connected by their faith and their thankfulness to God, and that they know God has a plan for all of them for the rest of their lives.
My, my, my. I think she was speaking from the heart and it wasn't a sneaky ploy to garner support from some of the Christian crowd backing Jordan. She just might connect with middle America.
AMY VACHAL may have hit upon a winning formula by covering some of today's top hits instead of redoing old standards for a spot on "The Voice" singing competition. Last week her interpretation of Taylor Swift's "Blank Space" topped the iTune chart during the voting period at No. 4, the best among the remaining contestants.
iTune downloads are particularly valuable because if you finish in the Top Ten, the downloads are multiplied by ten. That was enough to garner the top spot among the Top 10 finishers last week. The 26-year old Filipino/American crooner from New Jersey and Brooklyn needs the help of the vast Asian/American social network community to counter all the pre-teen girl votes usually cast for the cutest, the most emotional or the longest note-holder. Amy is clearly, a singer who has her own unique style. It may please the judges, but the musicality is sometimes missed by the mass audience. The Top 9 will be announced tomorrow (Dec. 1).
How to vote on "The Voice"
There is a strict 14-hour voting window from the end of the show (between 9:55 p.m. ET to 12 p.m. ET the following day). That seems unfair for the voters on the West Coast because their voting period is done at 9 p.m. PST. Voters from Hawaii, where Vachal receives a lot of support have an even shorter period to vote. Each person can vote up to 40 times total (10 votes per each of the four ways).
1. iTunes: downloading a song counts as 10 votes. (Bonus: if it reaches the top ten on the charts it gets multiplied by 10.) (1 download per person = 10 votes)
2. Facebook: vote on The Voice Facebook page via this link. (up to 10 times per person total)
3. The App : Download The Voice App on your phone (up to 10 times total)
AMY VACHAL of Team Adam (Levine) may have hit upon a formula for her to go deep in The Voice singing competion. For the second week in a row, she has taken a Top 10 hit and made it her own by it adding her own unique style. The Filipina/American's performance - sometimes unconsciously strumming an imaginary ukulele - was good enough to get her into next week's show for the ten finalists.
Last week she left behind the old standards that she is so comfortable with and gave Drake's "Hotline Bling" the Amy Vachal treatment. This week she did it again with Taylor Swift's "Blank Space." which she turned into a folksy, more playful version of the chart topper. That's her strength. She didn't try to imitate Swift, but she turned the American Music Awards Song of the Year into her own creation.
"Adam came up with the song, it wasn't on any of my lists," Vachal said with a laugh after her performance. "We collaborated and tried a bunch of different songs, and finally he said, 'We are doing this.' I started out playing the guitar, but as an art piece it didn't fit. Still I did get to play air ukulele, and I infused a vintage feel to it."
Unlike the other performers who try to reproduce hit songs note by note, Vachal has the talent to turn almost any song into her soft, sweet style. This will do her well in The Voice because fans begin know whet style to expect from her.
Amy Vachal sings Taylor Swift.
Pharrell Wilson, her former coach, said, “The way you are doing these songs, it frames your voice so well.” Coach Adam told her, “I am so proud of you, the way you’ve won this season is taking your own approach to songs. That is the artistry that I love.”He also urged fans to buy Vachal's cover on iTunes, one of the ways fans can vote. Those iTunes votes are multiplied by 10 if the download finishes in the top ten. By the time voting was over, Vachal had the No. 4 downloaded song on the streaming site.
Blake Shelton, who wanted Vachal on his team, commented, “I love these flips that you guys are doing. That may be my favorite vocal from you so far. To hear the lower register of your voice … I have never heard it so clear and so loud.”
Vachal's own coach Adam Levine said, "The way you've won this season is by taking your own approach to songs. You've completely triumphed. I'm as pleased as I could possibly be," said the lead singer for Maroon 5.
This was the first time Vachal iTune downloads surpassed favorite Jordan Smith, who finished at eighth. Voice contestant Emily Ann Roberts finished tenth. Joining Vachal, Smith and Roberts in the final 10 are: Braiden Sunshine, Zach Seabaugh, Madi Davis, Barrett Baber, Jeffrey Austin, Lorin Bukowski and Shelby Brown. Jeffery Austin went home.
The competition only gets more tense as the ten remaining singers return next Monday (Nov. 30) to pursue their dreams on another round of The Voice.
BEFORE she was "discovered" and auditioned for The Voice, Amy Vachal was playing the small cafes in Manhattan and Brooklyn.
In the accompanying video, the Filipina/American singer performed La Vie en Rose made famous by the famous French chanteuse Edith Piaf. Take this song as a fitting tribute to Parisians, still suffering from the terrorist attacks from last weekend.
After barely scraping by in the Knockout rounds where she had to be "saved" by her coach, the New Jersey-raised Vachal was able to get enough viewer votes last week to make it to the Top 11 this week.
Even though the soft, sultry jazz style of the singer has impressed the judges, the American voting audience appears to favor the more familiar religious, country or blues singing of the other contestants so Vachal will need all the votes she can get from us.
The fate of the remaining performers on the show is now left in the hands of the viewing audience. You Asian/American social networkers out there - and I know that there are lot of you in greater proportion to our population percentage - should get busy on the keyboards tonight and vote for Amy so she can make it to the finals in December.
The Voice airs tonight, 8 p.m./7 p.m. central on NBC.
How to vote on "The Voice"
There is a strict 14-hour voting window from the end of the show (between 9:55 p.m. ET to 12 p.m. ET the following day). That seems unfair for the voters on the West Coast because their voting period is done at 9 p.m. PST. Voters from Hawaii, where Vachal receives a lot of support have an even shorter period to vote. Each person can vote up to 40 times total (10 votes per each of the four ways).
1. iTunes: downloading a song counts as 10 votes. (Bonus: if it reaches the top ten on the charts it gets multiplied by 10.) (1 download per person = 10 votes)
2. Facebook: vote on The Voice Facebook page via this link. (up to 10 times per person total)
3. The App : Download The Voice App on your phone (up to 10 times total)
Amy Vachal accompanied herself on electric guitar.
AS IT TURNS OUT, there wasn't that much to worry about. Amy Vachal is returning next week on The Voice after getting enough votes from the public. The result was a complete contrast from the last two elimination rounds when Vachal had to be "saved" by her mentor/coach Adam Levine when she didn't garner enough votes from the viewing audience.
The Filipina/American singer will compete with the rest of the Top 11 including favorite Jordan Smith, Jeffery Austin, Emily Ann Roberts, Madi Davis, Braiden Sunshine, Barrett Baber, Evan McKeel, Shelby Brown, Korin Bukowski and Zach Seabaugh.
On Monday (Nov. 16), Amy took a risk and did a cover of Drake's "Hotline Bling." The 26-year old New Jersey singer via Brooklyn accompanied herself on electric guitar and put her own smooth and sultry twist on a song that is currently No. 2 on Billboard's "Hot 100" chart.
According to the judges, she made an elegant and classic performance. Her coach Adam said, she took risks and created a great version of the contemporary song, instead of reworking old standards like she has done in previous performances. The strategy apparently worked.
"Wow," said Pharrell Williams, Vachal's former coach. "You always make songs yours. It's an amazing uncanny ability that not many people have. I'm happy for you. It's the reason I pushed my button for you in the very beginning and the reason I'm happy you are now with Adam. The idea that you can come out here and take such creative license and bring so much of you — all of that Brooklyn, New York jazz element to that song in that way is a beautiful thing. It's why I like doing this show."
"Amy, I think you made a really brave choice in listening to me on this. I know that this was a weird choice," said coach Adam Levine. "You took a risk and did something bold. I want that version of that song in my life and that didn't exist until now. You put an entirely new spin of a really great song and you should be so proud of the artist you are evolving into. That was so cool."
Indeed, her version of Drake's song finished No. 6 among iTunes downloads during the 14-hour voting period after the eastern timezone airing of The Voice. Fellow contestant Jordan Smith's moving rendition of "Great Is Thy Faithfulness" finished No. 1. Smith speculate that and Smith is the one to beat this year and is the only one to draw on his faith, a major attraction for a large segment of the voting audience, espeically in the context of the Paris attacks.
Vachals' Facebook page has been getting worldwide commentary. Phyl Carm Alfano of Brick said Vachal is "the only reason to watch 'The Voice' this season." She, like others, were unnerved by the last second save.
"I'm glad Adam kept you on the show, but I think the show does lot of things for effect," she said. "I can't believe you were ever at risk. Keep on keeping on."
Vachal has apparently generated a following in the Philippines, where her mother was born. Cez Lee of Quezon City, Philippines said:
"So proud and happy for you," she said. "We thank God and Adam Levine, who believes in you. We, your followers are praying for your success."
The remaining contestants will continue to compete until the Dec. 15 show, when one is named "The Voice" and receives a recording contract as the grand prize. Enjoy Vachal's performance below:
How to vote on "The Voice"
There is a strict 14 hour voting window from the end of the show (between 9:55 p.m. ET to 12 p.m. ET the following day). That seems unfair for the voters on the West Coast because their voting period is done at 9 p.m. PST. Voters from Hawaii, where Vachal receives a lot of support have an even shorter period to vote. Each person can vote up to 40 times total (10 votes per each of the four ways).
1. iTunes: downloading a song counts as 10 votes. (Bonus: if it reaches the top ten on the charts it gets multiplied by 10.) (1 download per person = 10 votes)
2. Facebook: vote on The Voice Facebook page via this link. (up to 10 times per person total)
3. The App : Download The Voice App on your phone (up to 10 times total)
Amy Vachal, a frontrunner in the current season of The Voice.
OK, OK ... I'm jumping on the Amy Vachal bandwagon. The Filipina/American continues to wow the judges with her soft, easy-going style as she advances on The Voice singing competition. All four of the judges were impressed with her and wanted her on their respective teams but she ended up picking Pharrel as her coach. The Vassar grad was playing gigs in New York City when she auditioned for the popular reality show. Her Nora Jones-like whispery, melancholy voice is so soothing, mentor Pharrel said that's what anyone who's had a bad day would want to hear when they got home. It'll be interesting how her style fares against the high-note acrobatics and screaming style employed by most singing contestants. Amy is not the first Filipino/American to appear on the show but they have fallen by the wayside by some high-energy diva or good-looking guitar-player.
Her mother is Dierdra Garcia-Vachal, who is the younger sister of former Cebu Governor and now 3rd District Representative Gwendolyn Garcia. In an interview with NBC, the 26-year old Amy said:
"Yes. I'm half-Filipino. It's crazy that there has been such a huge response and I have been overwhelmed by it. My mom was born and raised there. I've only been there three times in my entire life. The most recent was last fall and I went to go visit family. It happened to be right after this crazy hurricane hit the area where my mom is from and we weren't sure if there was going to be a runway. We ended up going and we just jumped right into the relief efforts. Ever since that I've felt a special connection to the Filipino culture. I'm so grateful to be considered one of their own even though I'm a 'hapa' baby."
After the Battle round, during which she sings the same song with another contestant, Adam Levine, the host and one of the mentors quipped, "Cue the best singer we've ever had on The Voice, ... and also the prettiest" in referencing Amy after he battle with a country singing duo last Tuesday (Oct. 20). And nobody would argue with him.
Hailee was better known as an actress after being nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in True Grit opposite Jeff Bridges.
