Popstars judges react to Teea Hewitt singing her original. Video / TVNZPopstars auditions have left the panellists lost for words at the talent the show has already unearthed.
The second day of Auckland Popstars auditions has already introduced New Zealand to a talented bunch of future stars, with several receiving the coveted silver callback card and a ticket to the next round.
The auditions included a fantastic cover of Royals and an inspiring song from a South Auckland finance worker-turned aspiring musician, but there were two particular performances that stood out to the Popstars panel.
Teea Hewitt, whose artist name is Lavida Looty, had the panellists so impressed with her original song that Nathan King remarked it sounded like something that should be on the radio.
“Just listening to that track, I can hear it on the radio straight away,” he told the 23-year-old. “I’m convinced, that’s a yes from me.”
And Kimbra was equally impressed as she told Hewitt how much she loved her voice.
“I just felt power, you’re clearly so comfortable when you’re performing, it’s a definite yes from me, I’ll say that off the bat.
“I want to push you a little bit, you have the voice to go all over the show,” Kimbra told her, launching into advice for Hewitt about how she could take her voice to the next level with clever production.
“I’d love to see you soar into other melodies,” Kimbra said.
Picking up on how keen Kimbra was to get her into a recording studio ASAP, Vince Harder joked about how keen she was to see what potential the South Auckland rapper and singer had.
“Kimbra wants to get into the studio now.”
And when Holly Robertson, 18, walked into the audition room she was an underdog – she chose not to sing any original music. Instead, she chose to perform I’m Here from the Broadway musical The Colour Purple.
As the song built to impressive heights, Robertson nailed the varied range of the song, from quiet notes to big belts that had the panellists stunned.
It also was an obvious yes for Harder and King, and who were just as floored by Robertson’s vocals.
“I said to the boys before you walked in, ‘she’s going to have be amazing’ because you’re not walking in an original song, but you are different my friend. You have a voice that can shake a room and bring it to a stand-still,” Kimbra said, encouraging Robertson to find the courage to write her own material in order to cement her chance at making it big.
“You have some talent that the world needs, it’s a yes from me.”
Tomorrow night, the Popstars team heads to Christchurch to help uncover the next big star. Will the South Island performers rival Auckland’s?
Tune in to Popstars Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday nights at 7.30pm on TVNZ 2.
