Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Lela, 15, of Miami, Fla., auditioned with Camila Cabello’s “Havana,” singing in both English and Spanish and displaying tons of stage presence for someone so young. The Spanish verse prompted a chair turn from Kelly Clarkson. A couple of big notes at the end prompted Jennifer Hudson to turn as well. Jennifer said the show needs more artists like Lela. She joined Team JHUD.

Her background: Lela says she started performing at age 7. Her family is Colombian. She says she was raised on Shakira, but got introduced to Drake and Beyonce when she got into school. She’s hoping to combine the two influences to create something new.

On picking Jennifer as her coach: “All my life I’ve been a theatre kid. And with my friends in my theatre club, Jennifer Hudson was praised. I’ve been watching her movies and I’ve always really admired her. And she’s an Oscar winner. And she’s in theatre, like I am. She also understands that aspect. And I’ve always had that in me. Like, if she turns around, I would be so happy to choose her.”

What the show didn’t show:

* Her parents were professional athletes in Colombia and moved to the United States to escape the violent political climate there, according to her bio on The Voice website.

* She’s a sophomore in high school and spends most of her free time outside school at a music conservatory, the bio indicates.

* Her real name is Pamela Restrepo. She explained the stage name to Voice Views. “I was like, nobody’s going to remember this name because my last name is so complicated. And my whole life since I was a baby, my whole family would call me Lela because when I was a baby I didn’t know how to pronounce my name. So I would just say Lela. And ever since that everybody calls me Lela. And I think it’s simple, it’s cute and it’s just who I am.”

* As for auditioning at a young age, she told Voice Views: “This is a dream I’ve always wanted and I’m always doing this — singing and dancing. I’m always practicing. So I’m very used to striving for what I want. And then once I saw that The Voice was coming I just thought I have to do this.”

* Lela says the biggest crowd she ever performed for was as a dancer during a halftime show at the Miami Heat Stadium. Earlier this year, she played the role of a gypsy in a production of “Zorro: The Musical” at the Miami Theater Center.

* Also as an actress, she appeared in the 2017 Telemundo mini-series “Milagros de Navidad.”

* The curly hair comes naturally, and doesn’t bother Lela one bit. Why? Because if she has a good hair day, it’s big and puffy. If she has a bad hair day, it’s big and puffy. And if she wakes up from a nap, it’s still big and puffy.

* Lela doesn’t have original music yet, but said when she does it will likely have a Latin and dance flavor. “I like music that can pump up an audience and get people to dance because I love the feeling of dancing, a feeling of forgetting about life. So I’d love to make very upbeat Latin music that can do that to somebody.”

On social media:
Instagram:
Twitter: @LelaSings
Facebook