Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Mafe, 22, Miami, performed “Besame Mucho” by Trio Los Panchos and Gigliola Cinquetti: Her impressive opening had all four coaches facing her way within 30 seconds. Chance and John were the first to turn, in that order. Her voice is powerful and emotive. Chance says Mafe has “extreme” vocal talent. Reba said the vocal touched her heart and soul. Shay called the performance “phenomenally impressive.” And John said her vocals are “so tasteful” and “magical.” He even speaks a bit of Spanish in his pitch. And, in a rare occurrence on The Voice, Chance actually suggests Mafe would do very well as a member of Team Legend. Mafe, indeed, opted to join Team Legend.

Here’s more about Mafe:

* She’s now living in Miami, but she was born and raised in Venezuela. Her family moved to the U.S. when Mafe was 15 because of the increase in violence in her native country.

* Mafe told The Voice she got involved in music around age 4, joined a choir and traveled around Venezuela performing. She also sang the national anthem for any event she could.

* The transition to school in the U.S. was difficult, Mafe said, largely because of the language barrier. Music helped.

* “I would go to any other class and be lost. But when I got to choir it would be ‘Cool. I am meant to be here.'”

* Mafe has since acquired an AA degree in music performance and jazz, but took a year off school to determine her path in music, according to her Voice bio.

* That bio adds that she’s working two jobs in order to save money for recording her original music.

* She hasn’t released any of that yet. But earlier this year she recorded two covers with El Cuartito, a group of musicians who record covers featuring a variety of lead singers.

* The songs Mafe recorded with El Cuartito include “Maneater” by Hall and Oates and “My Love Mine All Mine” by Mitski.

* One of her biggest musical influences is YEBBA. “@yebbasmith is my love,” she writes in one social media post. And two of her most recent covers on social media are YEBBA songs — “Evergreen” and “October Sky.”

* Mafe noted that her audition song is about kissing someone for the last time. She had no trouble relating to that situation because she could remember the friends and family her family left behind in Venezuela to start over in the U.S.

Mafe on social media:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube