A seventeen-year-old girl’s dream has come true. Every season, thousands of singers try out for The Voice from all over the United States to share their talent. This season, Carolina Rial, a Ridgefield, New Jersey resident, was picked out from among those thousands to become a contestant on the show. Read on to learn more about this New Jersey-based contestant.
Performing on The Voice
On March 2nd, Rial performed her blind audition with Sam Smith’s “Stay With Me” for judges Kelly Clarkson, John Legend, Nick Jonas, and Blake Shelton. Legend and Jonas turned their chairs for her, and she decided to join Team Legend. A blind audition is when the judges have their chairs turned away from the singer so that they are unable to see who is performing. After her blind audition aired, John Legend posted a tweet welcoming her to the team.
According to The Voice website, a potential contestant “must be legally present in the United States, with the unrestricted right to work for any US employer and to live in the United States and… you must be eligible to accept the prize if awarded. Contestants must be a minimum of 13 years of age and cannot be a candidate for public office. They also must participate in a background check and complete a number of forms and waivers.”
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Carolina traveled to LA for the show and loved the experience and the people she met. Being able to audition for The Voice was a dream come true.
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“It felt very surreal. This is something I’ve dreamt of since I first started singing. I traveled out to LA to film the show and met some of the most incredible, passionate, musicians that I am so lucky to call my closest friends,” she said. “Until this day it feels like I’m dreaming and I cannot wait for the world to see what’s next.”
Her Journey
Before her journey on The Voice began, Rial had also released songs of her own entitled “Remember Me,” “Know Me Better” and “Respect.” She also has performed at places such as Red Bull Arena, Metlife Stadium, Marlins Park, and New Jersey Performing Arts Center. In 2018, former “Voice” judge Jennifer Hudson reposted Carolina on her Instagram.
Rial began singing when she was 10 years old, and she says it has impacted her life in an extremely positive way.
“The whole reason I fell in love with music was that you can become so connected with it,” she said with passion. When things got crazy in life, music was always there for me as an outlet and escape from reality.”
Rial’s voice has so much power in her three songs and in “Know Me Better” you will definitely want to get up and dance. “Remember Me” shows off her insanely talented vocal range, and “Respect” has a slow yet catchy beat to it that pulls you right into the music.
Some of the artists Carolina looks up to include Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Jessie J, Demi Lovato, Alicia Keys, and Kelly Clarkson who she was grateful to be able to audition for.
Rial has always dreamed of being on this show.
“I’ve always wanted to audition for The Voice because of the incredible platform and opportunity it gives you,” she said. “It’s really hard to be able to get up there and face the backs of four chairs where some of the biggest names in music are sitting. I feel so blessed that everything went well.”
Dream Come True
Elena Hernandez, Rial’s best friend, was ecstatic to find out she made the cut. Thousands of people try out to be on the show each season.
“Honestly at first, I thought Carolina was joking with me. She FaceTimed me to tell me the big news and after her telling me she wasn’t joking, I was jumping with happiness,” Hernandez said.
Hernandez has known Rial for many years and witnessed her grow into the singer she is today.
“When she posted her first video on YouTube I was in shock. I couldn’t believe such a powerful voice came out of such a young girl. After she opened up her Instagram, Carolina began to show off her amazing talents of both singing and playing the piano. I knew she would make it far as the years progressed and saw her follow her dream,” Hernandez said.
When Rial learned that she was eligible to appear on The Voice, she was shocked because she had been hesitant in the past. She said that it can be intense to be competing in the show with such gifted individuals.
Carolina traveled to LA for the show and loved the experience and the people she met. Being able to audition for The Voice was a dream come true.
“It felt very surreal. This is something I’ve dreamt of since I first started singing. I traveled out to LA to film the show and met some of the most incredible, passionate, musicians that I am so lucky to call my closest friends,” she said. “Until this day it feels like I’m dreaming and I cannot wait for the world to see what’s next.”
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Rial’s love for music and singing is what she hopes to bring with her into her future.
“I definitely want to pursue music and now with this opportunity, I can definitely say that with so much more passion. I want the world to see that there’s more than just my voice. There’s a light inside me that I can’t wait for people to see shine through me on that stage,” Rial said.
Moving Forward
On April 12, Carolina battled against Riolana Doyle on the show, another member of Team Legend.
The battles occur after the blind auditions. Each coach pairs the members of their team with a partner to sing a song. From there, the coach will pick who they thought sang the song better.
Coaches can steal or save the singers. The steal occurs when another coach steals a member to place them on their team if their original coach did not choose them as a winner of the battle and a save is when the coach saves the member of their team wanting them to move to the next round.
John Legend saved Carolina Rial and she will now be a part of the Knockouts, where she will represent Legend’s team by singing a song individually in hopes of making it to live shows.
The Voice is on Mondays and Tuesdays on NBC at 8PM and 9PM Eastern Time.
To see more of Carolina Rial’s talent, follow her Instagram @carolinarialmusic, Twitter @carolinarialxo, follow her Facebook at Carolina Rial Music and her TikTok account @carolinarial. Carolina’s YouTube Channel is entitled, Carolina Rial. She is also on SoundCloud and Spotify as Carolina Rial.
To vote for Carolina in the Knockout round, download the NBC The Voice app or head over to NBC.com/VoiceVote. You can vote on April 26th 8PM EST until 7AM EST.
Rial’s journey on the show has just begun. Now that she has completed the blind auditions and the battles, she will continue along with her journey on the show to the next round, leading her even closer to being the winner of The Voice.
