After many, many years of watching singing competition songs on television, I can tell you that while talent is an important factor in passing an audition and continuing on the television journey, song choice is nearly as crucial. That’s why I was concerned when Lilli Passero told the audience on The Voice that she was picking a “vintage”-sounding song choice. Would it translate for the judges and for the audience? Lilli Passero’s The Voice song choice was risky, but for her, it totally paid off.
An actor and a singer (and a server by day who has actually waited on Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton, The Voice judges, at her restaurant), Lilli has serious talent. The tune she picked for her audition was “A Love Of My Own” by Carla Thomas, which was recorded in the 1960s but is not widely, widely known. I admired Lilli knowing her voice here, because she knows what she can do and what her voice is capable of. Apparently, it’s capable of a lot, because she had the judges fighting over having her on their respective teams. Gwen, Blake, and Alicia duked it out for a while, but ultimately, Lilli joined Alicia Keys’ judging team.
I’m glad that Alicia nabbed Lilli, because she sure put forth an effort – Alicia sang her own original, made-up-on-the-spot song for Lilli in order to convince her to join her team. Have you ever seen that on The Voice before? “If you would pick me as your coach/I could show you/I could tell you/How to put your feelings on your sleeve/Tell everybody just what you mean,” Alicia sang. That would win me over for sure, and that was the clincher for Lilli. I trust (and obviously Lilli does, too) Alicia to recognize Lilli’s potential and hone her skills to make her the next champion of The Voice.
