Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Katriz Trinidad, 15, of San Diego, Calif., turned to an old favorite — Etta James’ “At Last” — for her audition. Her big voice and vocal fireworks prompted quick chair turns from Gwen Stefani, Pharrell Williams and Blake Shelton. Gwen called her close to “perfect” as a singer; Blake suggested she was “born to be a star.” But Katriz opted to join Team Pharrell after her new coach said she’s the type of talent his record company searches for all the time.

Her background: Her parents moved to the U.S. from the Philippines to pursue a better life. She lives with eight family members and says things can get really “hectic and crazy.” Her passion, of course, is music. She entered and won her first competition at age 8 and says that she’s won 14 championships since then. “I was very determined at a young age because I fell in love with music,” she told The Voice.

What the show didn’t show: How did the youngest contestant to land a spot on The Voice so far wind up singing a classic like “At Last” for her audition song? In an interview with a local radio station, Katriz said she’s really familiar with the song. “I actually learned it from my uncle who passed away, so it’s really dear to my heart. And I made a little twist to it to make it my own, and they really seemed to like it.” Not that she wasn’t nervous. That big sigh she took just before singing — Katriz says that was an effort to calm herself. Among her biggest pre-Voice performances, the sophomore at Otay Ranch High School counts performances at the 2012 California State Democratic Convention and a recent appearance at a San Diego Padres game. And she was back performing at the FilAm Fest this weekend (Oct. 4-5). Among her musical influences, Katriz mentions Beyonce, Etta James, Aretha Franklin and Alicia Keys. “I really love soulful and R&B music,” she says. As for picking Pharrell? “Her truly believed in me. I saw it in his eyes. He went on his knees for me and he wrote ‘please’ on his notebook, which was awesome because, it’s Pharrell.”

Update: Katriz defeated four-chair turn recipient Blessing Offor in the battle round; they performed Stevie Wonder’s “Do, I Do.” But Katriz was eliminated in the knockout round, losing her match to DaNica Shirey. Katriz sang “Super Woman.”

On iTunes: Just her audition song.

Keeping up with Katriz:
Twitter: @katriztrinidad
Facebook
YouTube
Website

“I’m Going Down” cover

“If I Ain’t Got You” cover

“Girl on Fire” cover — I think you could say the crowd loves her