Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Maiya Sykes, 36, of Los Angeles, auditioned with Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me.” And within about one line of the song, she had all four judges facing in her direction. Gwen Stefani calls her voice “ridiculous.” Blake Shelton says Maiya’s performance “made my day.” Pharrell applauded her “conviction” and promised to help amplify her story as a singer. Maiya decided to join Team Pharrell.

Her background: Maiya says music runs in her family. She says her mother sang background for Earth, Wind and Fire, Meatloaf and Neil Diamond and her dad is a sax player, singer and percussionist. Maiya wound up going to Yale, and triple majored in musical composition, political science and African American studies. But she decided to try to make a career of music. She has done session work, coaches vocals and sings at weddings. Though she’s been working for two decades as a singer, she considers The Voice a chance to “launch herself in a way I’ve never been able to do.”

What the show didn’t show: On Twitter, Maiya describes herself as “a singer, songwriter and overall hustler.” She’s also been lead singer of a band called The Endangered — also featuring guitarist Nick Block, bassist Frank Abraham, and drummer Gene Coye — since around 2009. The group classifies its music as rock/soul/R&B and released a five-track EP in 2012 and a pair of singles in 2013. According to its website, the band was also working on an album to be released sometime this year. In her blog, Maiya talks about participating in a world tour with Macy Gray, performing in a choir at the BET Awards during a tribute to Whitney Houston and singing with Stevie Wonder at his birthday party in 2012. “I’ve worked primarily as a vocal producer,” she says in her Voice video. “As an artist, I want to learn how to mesh those two worlds — how to be in production and how to be in the forefront.” That’s one reason, she says, she decided to join Team Pharrell.

Update: She was eliminated from the show after losing a battle round match to Elyjuh Rene. They sang “If I Ain’t Got You” by Alicia Keys.

On iTunes: Her audition song (“Stay with Me”), the 2012 “Endangered” EP and the 2013 singles (“Milk and Honey” and “Restart”). You’ll also find a number of releases on which she’s a featured vocalist.

Keeping up with Maiya:
Twitter: @MaiyaSykes1
Facebook
YouTube
Website

“Dollars” with The Endangered

“Calling on You” with The Endangered”

“A Satisfied Mind”