Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Alessandra Castronovo, 21, of Millstone Township, N.J., auditioned with “When Love Takes Over,” the David Guetta song that features vocals by Kelly Rowland. Adam Levine turned around during the first verse; Blake Shelton followed. Adam praised the “sheer power” of Alessandra’s vocals. She chose to join Team Adam.

Her background: She was part of a montage package, so we didn’t get to see a pre-performance interview. But the show’s website tells us that Alessandra hails from a large Puerto Rican and Italian family and works in the family restaurant. And while she’s always loved to sing, Alessandra has struggled to overcome her stage fright.

What the show didn’t show: Alessandra hails from the same part of New Jersey as Season 5 standout Jacqui Lee. And while it remains to be seen if she’ll be as successful on the show, her YouTube videos certainly show she has the vocal potential to do well. Just check out the videos below. You can hear more of Alessandra’s talent on her Reverbnation page. “As a performer, I’m really not all about gimmicks and things like that,” Alessandra said in a conference call with the media the day after her audition aired. “I like to just show emotion when I sing and just sing from the heart. The simpler, the better, I think.” She does not sing at her father’s restaurant, Albivi Brick Oven, because it’s so busy and her father needs her help. Besides, she said she prefers to stay in the background there. She also does makeup on the side. “I sing every once in a while,” she says in her Voice video, “but it’s not my main thing.” And she admits it took lots of convincing from her boyfriend, family and friends to get her to try out for The Voice at the auditions in Philadelphia. Now that she’s on Team Adam, she’s hoping he can teach her more about stage presence and “how to let go on stage.” Why Adam? Well, he just kept pouring on the compliments after her audition ended, she says, though she admits she can’t remember a lot of exactly what he said because she was so overwhelmed by the experience. “My family was like, ‘What did Adam say when he hugged you?'” she recalled. “And I’m like, ‘I don’t even remember.'”

Update: In the battle round, she scored an upset over four-chair turn recipient Joe Kirk. They performed Rihanna’s “Stay.” But she was eliminated from the show in the knockout round, losing to Mia Pfirrman. Alessandra sang “Next to Me” by Emeli Sande.

On iTunes: Just her audition song.

Keeping up with Alessandra:
Twitter: @AlessandrasFans
Facebook
YouTube

“Lay Me Down” (cover)

“Girl on Fire” (cover)

“Stay” (cover)