Idol Chatter & Voice Views

We’ve seen several firsts on The Voice already in Season 3.

One was provided by Julio Cesar Castillo in the second blind audition episode when he sang an entire song in Spanish.

Julio, now 21 and from Chicago, says he started singing at age 3 but fell in love with Mariachi music at age 6.

“What I love about Mariachi music is, even if it’s a sad song, you have fun playing it and people enjoy it,” he told The Voice.

So he’s part of a Mariachi band that performs three times a week, but says he’s ready “to do something more” with his music.

On The Voice, he auditioned with “La Bamba” in Spanish. And his spirited rendition enticed chair turns from Blake and Cee Lo.

He went with Blake, who praised him for having “a strong and technically great voice.”

What the show didn’t show: Julio was totally surprised to be invited to audition for the show. “One morning, my cell phone went off and I had a message that I’d been registered to be on The Voice. I’m like, ‘How did this happen?'” Turns out his sister had signed him up. He said he selected Blake on a “gut feeling” that he’d be a better fit and is ready to bring something new to the show. His Voice bio tells us that Julio plays the guitar and saxophone and might become an auto mechanic if he can’t make it in pop music.

Editor’s Note: Check back for live blogs once the battle rounds begin on The Voice.

Julio Cesar Castillo covering “Sunday Morning” by Maroon 5