Her audition: Lacy Mandigo, 18, of Statesville, N.C., auditioned with Dusty Springfield’s “Son of a Preacher Man.” A big growl on the final note prompted a chair turn from Christina Aguilera and earned Lacy a spot on the show. Her audition was montaged with two others, so we saw only a moment of it. But Lacy said she had dreamed that Christina would turn at the last moment, just like it happened.
Her background: The Voice website tells us that Lacy’s father was in several 1980s metal hair bands. She fell in love with singing when watching the audience respond to his shows. And she was hooked when he took her up on stage to perform.
What the show didn’t show:
She has performed with Zach Giordano as the Lacy and Zach band. She sings; he plays guitar. I’ve embedded a couple of their performances below.
Lacy says the first song her dad (Brian) invited her to sing with him on stage was “You’ve Got Another Thing Comin'” by Judas Priest. “I remember the feeling was incredible and I got a music high. After that I went to almost all of his shows and we sang together.” She says she now considers his bandmates “family.”
The teen beauty is also pursuing modeling and has posted photos from several of her shoots on her Facebook page.
According to a July 2014 story in the Statesville Record and Landmark, Lacy auditioned for American Idol on at least three occasions. In the article, singing coach Dawn Bumgarner calls her “the complete package.” Lacy says she made the celebrity judge round on Idol at age 15, but considers The Voice a much better fit.
As for the audition we didn’t see? “My adrenaline was pumping but I was feeling the song and the energy from the crowd. None of the coaches were turning throughout the whole performance and then I got to the last note — the note that I had been saving and anticipating. I thought to myself ‘Come on Christina! I hope you hear something with this last note.’ As soon as I hit the hard, raspy note she hit her button and a wave of emotions flooded me! It was one of the best experiences of my life.”
She says she decided to audition with “Son of a Preacher Man” because “I felt like it kind of grasped my bluesy side and of course the rasp that I havw in my voice. I am addicted to older music and I wanted to be myself and show the coaches what kind of music I love.”
Lacy says her musical influences include Pat Benatar, Heart, Janis Joplin, Joss Stone and York County’s own Lzzy Hale. “Although I grew up on hard rock and metal, I kind of found my own genre in music,” Lacy says. “I fell in love with the soul and emotion that Janis sang with. I fell in love with strong female leads like Pat Benatar and Lita Ford. I think what really inspired me was getting to meet Lzzy Hale from the band Halestorm. She told me to keep pushing forward because they needed more strong women in the industry.”
Keeping up with Lacy:
Twitter: @LacyMandigo
Facebook
YouTube
Lacy and Zach Band — “Madness” (Muse cover)
Lacy and Zach Band — “Oh, Darling”
“Son of a Preacher Man (Voice iTunes version)
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