Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Mia Z., 16, Pittsburgh, Pa., auditioned with a classic, B.B. King’s “The Thrill is Gone.” She displayed a big voice with a touch of rasp, not to mention very nice range. Blake Shelton turned around early in the performance, later joined by Pharrell Williams. He called her range “insanity” and said “the thrill is right here.” Mia decided to join Team Pharrell.

Her background: Mia tells The Voice she grew up around music. Her grandmother and grandfather were in a band together. Her mom and uncle also performed in a band together. When Mia was 8, her mom and uncle asked her to sing a blues song with them. “It started there,” Mia says. “We got a band together for me. I’m the lead vocalist. My uncle is the guitarist. My mom sings.” So on weekends, she travels around performing with the band rather than hanging out at the movies with friends. Mia says she still prefers to sing the blues.

What the show didn’t show: Mia Z is short for Mia Zanotti and the teen attends Kiski Area High School in the Pittsburgh area. After school, she says you’ll often find her practicing in a music studio created in what used to be her grandpa’s grocery store. In her website bio, Mia says the singing bug really bit her when she started singing backup vocals with The Knabbs Annual Christmas Concerts. And, she might be just 16, but she already has an album to her credit, “The Beginning,” released back in 2012. You can check out one of the best tracks, “Better Lover,” below. As for her musical taste, this is how she described it to her hometown radio station: “I really love that old-soul blues, but still kind of modern. I’m trying to keep that modern beat, everybody can get into, everybody can relate to. Blues, but some funk, some rock, some pop, a little bit of everything.” As for winding up on The Voice — she says her mom sent in a video of her performing and she was offered a private audition. “My outlook on it is, this is a great experience for anybody to have … a stepping stone to opening all these doors,” Mia told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

On picking Pharrell: “The coaching experience with Pharrell so far has been so inspirational. Everything he has said is so meaningful.”

On iTunes: Her Voice performances plus a 9-track album called “The Beginning” from June 2012.

Update: Mia was pitted against Ashley Morgan in the battle round. They performed ZZ Ward’s “Put the Gun Down. Pharrell declared Mia the winner. All three other coaches tried to steal Ashley. She opted to join Team Christina. In the knockout round, she found herself engaged in a three-singer matchup after Anthony Riley exited the competition. Mia sang “Hold On, I’m Coming” in her competition with Paul Pfau and Sawyer Fredericks. She made the live playoffs when Pharrell selected her and Sawyer to advance.

Live Playoffs: She performed “Ain’t No Sunshine” and was voted into the finals by Voice viewers. The song hit number 48 on iTunes singles chart.

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Twitter: @MiaZanotti

Better Lover (from “The Beginning”)

Joke’s on You (with the Mia Z Band)

Stars (cover)