There may be a Shamrock on “The Voice” in the near future.
Saint Patrick freshman Carlos Rodriguez, 15, recently tried out for the show and received high reviews from producers. While Rodriguez wasn’t selected to be a contestant this season, he was given three months to perfect his talents and was told he could skip the first round of auditions when they return to Chicago later this year.
Rodriguez had a thrilling experience leading up to his audition.
The St. Pat’s football and basketball player – who regularly sings at New Life Covenant Church – had not planned on trying out for “The Voice” until about two weeks before auditions were held at Navy Pier in February. After posting videos of himself signing on Facebook, the freshman began receiving dozens of comments and messages praising his voice that encouraged him to try out.
Once Rodriguez decided to audition, he waited in line alongside thousands of others hoping to one day appear on the show. He was ultimately called into a room with 10 other singers who were given 60 seconds to sing in front of producers before they were cut off.
Rodriguez was last to sing. He performed James Arthur’s “Say You Won’t Let Go,” and was able to complete the entire song, rather than being told to stop after the first minute. After that, the nine other contestants were asked to leave the room and the producers asked Rodriguez to sing another song. He chose “Love Yourself” by Justin Bieber.
After it was all said and done, the producers told Rodriguez that they loved his voice, but that it could use a bit of refining, which is why he was asked to return for second round auditions later this year.
Rodriguez – who has since hired one of Chicago’s top vocal coaches – was thrilled with the response.
“I was just going to get experience,” he said. “The fact that she noticed the talent I had, you feel like all your hard work came together.”
Click here to view videos of Rodriguez singing on his YouTube channel.
