Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Blind audition: Ponciano Seoane, 25, of San Antonio, Texas, auditioned with just two spots left on the show — one on Team Adam Levine and one on Team Miley Cyrus — and enticed both of those coaches to turn for his performance of Phillip Phillips’ “Home.” Adam liked the emotion in Ponciano’s performance. Ponciano opted to join Team Adam.

His background: Both of his parents were in the Air Force, which means the family moved around a lot. He started playing saxophone in sixth grade and his mother made his sign a contract saying he’d practice at least an hour a day. During high school, he picked up a guitar because, after all, he couldn’t sing while playing sax. He works in admitting/registration at a hospital emergency room, so finding time to play music “can be tough.” He says his audition song, “Home,” is special to him because it’s a tribute to his young son. Ponciano and the child’s mother are no longer together. They’re still on “good terms,” Ponciano says, but he doesn’t get to see his son as much as he’d like.

What the show didn’t show:
* He was born at the Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.
* Ponciano started college at St. Mary’s University in San Antonio, but has since transferred to the University of Texas at San Antonio, according to his bio on The Voice website. Ponciano says he’s still enrolled there, but took a semester off for The Voice.
* The hospital he works at is the Methodist Children’s Hospital in San Antonio.
* Ponciano says he plays an array of genres. “The places I play usually have a relaxed feel — hotels, upscale restaurants. You’re very likely to hear some John Mayer, Ed Sheeran, Marc Broussard and many more soulful artists. I do throw in some Spanish songs because of the San Antonio culture.”
* He and Tyler David Lee released an excellent single called “Daughter” to Bandcamp earlier this year as a duo called Pines.
* “‘Daughters’ actually came about while Tyler and I were trying to record another original,” he explains.
We loved the guitar lick, and so we ran with it. We like the idea of having a song dedicated to a future child, one that he nor I had yet. We came up with Pines because we really wanted to have a calming and naturalistic feel to our project name. It feels wholesome.”
* As for Pines, Ponciano says he and Tyler only performed a whole set together once, very recently. “The reaction was wonderful. We plan on trying to perform more together, and would like to do more songs for Pines, although working on a solo album is very important to me right now.”
* As for his decision to join Team Adam, Ponciano says, “Adam Levine has been a huge musical influence on the way I started playing music. It’s not only that, but the sense of conviction he has when he works with his team really spoke to me, and what he had to say to me truly connected with me.”

Keeping up with Ponciano:
Twitter: @Ponciano_Seoane
Facebook
YouTube