Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Blind audition: Sophia Urista, 31, of New York, auditioned with The Beatles “Come Together” displaying the type of vocal tone that would stand out in a crowd during an impassioned performance. Midway through the song Alicia Keyes and Miley Cyrus turned their chairs. Alicia said Sophia reminded her of Tina Turner and Janis Joplin “combined into one body.” Miley describes her as a rock and roll Dolly Parton, then showed a video of Dolly urging Sophia to join her goddaughter’s team. Sophia joined Team Miley.

Her background: Sophia performs in a burlesque show at Duane Park in New York. “You walk in, it’s like a time capsule,” she explains. “It’s like the 1920s. Basically, I get all dressed up in my sequins and my feathers. I come out and sing a song and introduce the girls — just a very classical burlesque experience.” She was on a pre-med track in college until she took an acting class. “I fell in love with performance. I told my parents I’m moving to New York to be an actress. And they said, ‘Good luck with that.'” She taught Spanish and did other odd jobs before deciding to pursue music.

What the show didn’t show:
* According to The Voice website, when Sophia made the move from Detroit to New York, she had $700 to her name and zero support from her parents.
* The site also says Sophia’s participation in a 2009 karaoke contest fundraiser for sickle cell anemia helped fuel her desire to pursue music.
* She fronts a rock band called The VeeVees, which also includes Garrett Cillo on guitar and vocals, Andrea Belfiore on drums and Artur Novoselsky on bass. The group most recently performed at the Afropunk Fest in New York in late August.
* With Sophia as lead singer, The VeeVees released a single called “Gold Blooded” in 2014 and an EP called “Cream of Heaven” last year. They also recently released the music video for a new single, “Hard Lovin'” that isn’t available on iTunes yet.
* Sophia’s also been active as a solo artist, releasing an EP called “Rachet Punk” in June (make sure to check out “For His Love Turns Cold”) and a single called “White Noise” in August.
* Given her diverse musical background, what’s she hoping to accomplish through The Voice. “I want to be the biggest rock star on the planet,” she said in a conference call with the media. “And I think that The Voice has so far, by letting me sing ‘Come Together’ really honoring that passion and desire that I have and allowing me to show the world that rock and roll is in my blood, in my bones, and I hope to keep doing that.”
* Why Team Miley? The video featuring Dolly — Sophia called it the “biggest name drop” in Voice history — didn’t hurt. But Sophia said she also chose Miley because she believes “the performance is not just about singing and I think she brings a very well-rounded breadth of knowledge, of style, presentation, and performance, and attitude that I really want to work with.”

Keeping up with Sophia:
Website
Website (The VeeVees)
Facebook
Twitter: @sophiaurista