Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Sylvia Yacoub made it clear: She’s dedicating her performance on The Voice to her mother.

You see, Sylvia was born in Egypt. That’s where her mother, who always loved singing, grew up.

“Growing up in Egypt as a woman is not as easy as in America,” Sylvia, 19, of Muskegon, Mich., told The Voice. “We don’t get as many opportunities, just because we’re women.

“So my dad brought us to America. He wanted his kids to have every opportunity possible.”

That might have been too late to help her mom follow her singing aspirations. But not too late for the daughter she inspired to do the same.

If The Voice doesn’t work out … well, Sylvia says she’ll be heading back to school. She has an interest in law. But she describes music as her “passion.”

Once she hits The Voice stage, she launches into Rihanna’s “Only Girl in the World.”

And, for much of the song, it looks like she might be headed back to college.

Then Blake, Christina and Cee Lo turn around, one after the other.

Christina complimented her on doing a good job with “a tough song.” Blake complimented her because he said she’s the first singer “who got stronger every time a chair turned around.”

What the show didn’t show: Sylvia moved to the U.S. at age 5, graduated from Mona Shores High School and attends the University of Notre Dame where she majors in political science and philosophy. Her hometown newspaper reports that two years ago, she won the West Michigan Idol contest, earning a chance to audition for American Idol. And while in high school, she performed Christina Aguilera’s “Burlesque” to help her team win a showstopper award at the 2011 West Michigan Student Showcase. And she admitted to Christina Milian in her post-audition interview that she’s been a Christina fan since she was young and said that was one factor for picking her as a coach. On Facebook, Sylvia lists her musical genres as pop/r&b/soul, but in her Voice Q&A she admits her iPod includes “Big Green Tractor” by Jason Aldean. Want to hear more Syliva? Head to her YouTube channel.

Update: Three judges turned around for her blind audition performance of Rihanna’s “Only Girl in the World.” She then defeated talented young Joselyn Rivera in the battle round when they performed “Best Thing I Never Had.” Joselyn wound up being stolen by Adam. Sylvia sang Christina’s “Fighter” to defeated Aquile in the knockoff round. Last week, she was voted into the finals after sitting behind the piano and performing “The One That Got Away.” It was the top-ranked song on iTunes among the night two performances in the live playoffs. Her Top 12 performance of “My Heart Will Go On” checked in at number 125 on the iTunes singles chart the day after the show, eighth best among artists on The Voice.

Editor’s Note: Check back for live blogs during the finals on The Voice.

Sylvia singing an original “Show the World” at her high school in 2011