Valerie Ponzio may not have won top honors on season twelve of NBC’s “The Voice,” but she’s using her experience on the series to follow her dreams of becoming a singer. The Texas native who currently resides in Nashville, shocked home audiences when she had all four judges: Alicia Keys, Gwen Stefani, Adam Levine and Blake Shelton turn their chairs after hearing her audition. Ultimately, she is happy she chose to be a part of Team Blake even though she had considered picking one of her favorite singers, Stefani instead.
Valerie Ponzio Talks Life After “The Voice”
“It was actually hard for me to process that four chairs had turned for me in the moment,” Ponzio told Lorens World. “Even when I was walking off stage— after all was said and done— I remember seeing my family and I turned to my cousin and asked in all honesty, ‘Did I get four chairs?’ I was still in a daze and didn’t completely believe her when she said I did. I knew Gwen had turned for me which was one of the best moments of my life. Then when Alicia turned, I didn’t think it could get any better than that. As someone who has been singing her whole life, there was this surreal piece of validation to have them all turn their chairs wanting to work with me.”
Ponzio, who is currently promoting the release of her first single titled “Love Me When You’re Lonely,” has no regrets. Not even in an alternate universe where she would’ve chosen Stefani—just for arguments sake—does Ponzio think she would’ve ended up with a different result. She is simply taking her lessons and using them to help her grow as a singer and performer.
“The other competitors were so good there’s just no way to tell,” Ponzio said about the possibility of a different result had she picked a different team. “Gwen was so hard to say no to. She was, is, and will always be my idol. I just knew I needed to stay on my country path and hedge my bets on a country giant like Blake. I love him so much and he’s everything I want to shoot for in country music. But who knows, maybe I could have gone all the way with someone else, maybe not. All I know is that when those four chairs turned for me, it truly changed my life.”
Fans might be surprised when they hear Ponzo’s first single because it’s not as country as would be expected. But that’s something important to learn about this young Latina, always expect the unexpected.
“It’s definitely very pop but I’m still staying in the Country lane,” she promises. “The way country music is going, you’ll hear a fusion of pop, rap, and r&b elements. As a Latina in country music, I’m definitely trying to mix worlds together and I feel like this song reflects where I come from, what I’m influenced by musically, and the direction I’d like to see my music go.”
Watch all four chairs turn for Ponzo on “The Voice”:
