Idol Chatter & Voice Views

His audition: Sofronio Vasquez, 31, The Philippines, “I’m Going Down” by Mary J. Blige: Sofronio’s strong opening prompted an immediate chair turn from Snoop Dogg. Michael Buble, Reba McEntire and Gwen Stefani soon followed, giving Sofronio a four-chair turn long before he completed a very strong audition. Reba complimented him on a voice that’s like butter and loved his soulful sound. Gwen called it a Grammy performance. Michael said the performance made him emotional. Snoop encouraged him to “get in where you fit in.” In other words, with the coach with a background in soul music. He joined Team Buble.

Here’s more about Sofronio.

* He’s a Filipino artist and certainly no stranger to singing competitions.

* In fact, he gained acclaim as a contestant on the Philippine amateur singing competition Tawag ng Tanghalan.

* He competed on the show’s second season in 2018, made it through four rounds, but was eliminated shy of the finals.

* In late 2019, he returned for Season 6, competing against other favorites from past seasons who failed to make the finals.

* This time, he achieved that goal, finishing third with the help of a cover of Kelly Clarkson’s “My Grown Up Christmas List.”

* When COVID hit, he focused his singing talents on the popular Filipino streaming app Kumu. In 2021, he received a Kumu Diamond Award as one of the most watched streamers on the site.

* Along the way, he’s also had covers that went viral, according to his website bio.

* Sofronio’s cover of “That’s What Friends are For” received 9 million views on Facebook. On TikTok, a cover of “Nothing’s Gonna Change My Love for You” garnered more than 1 million views.

* New York-based, he’s got a sizeable social media following as well, with more than 18,000 followers on Instagram and more than 51,000 on TikTok.

* He’s also a versatile performer with YouTube covers ranging from Barry Manilow to The Beatles to Radiohead to Disney.

* And, according to that web bio, he can also rap.

* Sofronio has three songs available on streaming sites, with his most popular single being “Shine” from 2022.

Sofronio on social media:
Instagram
TikTok
Facebook
YouTube