Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Diego Val is another of The Voice contestants who overcame a serious disease to make it to The Voice stage.

When he was 8, Diego suffered from an ailment that caused the disintegration of his hip bone and prevented him from walking.

That’s when he immersed himself in music.

“I was hospitalized. I had crutches for four years,” Diego told The Voice. “I was in bed for more than a year and a half, and that’s when my grandmother gave me my first guitar.”

Diego, a native of Peru who’s now 25 and living in Miami, hasn’t forgotten his plight as a youngster.

He now works with a group called Musicians on Call that has artists visit sick children in hospitals.

“I know what it’s like to be in the hospital and be that kid,” he says. “I believe music can make anybody smile. It can give anybody a moment of peace. That’s the way I feel I can show my support.”

On The Voice, of course, he was looking for the support of a coach, preferably a coach who could hear his “passion” for music.

He performed “Animal,” and the crowd responded almost immediately.

But he was well into his performance before Cee Lo Green turned his chair around. He wound up being the only judge to respond.

He praised Diego for doing “a great rendition of that record.” And once she saw Diego, Christina suggested she might be able to snatch him up later, during the battle round.

What the show didn’t show: Diego is something of a veteran of these competitions, having appeared on the Peruvian TV show “R&R” and having been runner-up on Generacion R, the Latin-American version of American Idol, as a teen. That’s according to his Facebook bio, which also notes that he performs in Spanish and English and has been featured on a couple of Latino magazines. Oh, and he also appeared on a Peruvian soap opera at one point based on a photo he posted to Facebook. He calls the experience “very fun.” You can hear lots more from Diego by heading to his YouTube channel, where you’ll find lots of promotional videos and a couple of original songs. Head to MySpace and you’ll also find three songs he apparently released in 2007. As for Cee Lo being the only judge to turn around, Diego didn’t mind one bit. “I really had Cee Lo in my head,” he told Christina Milian in a post-audition interview. “Thank you, Cee Lo.” A giggling Christina thanked Cee Lo as well.

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

Diego covering “Use Somebody”