For the love of singing

Tony Passetti and Audra Jaye, both seniors at Tioga Central High School, recently took their love of singing music a step further by auditioning for the popular television show, The Voice.

With artist audition pass in hand, Audra and Tony traveled to the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, Mass. on Saturday, Jan. 27 to take part in one of four Open Call Auditions scheduled across the country this winter.

The Voice, an award winning series on NBC, features up-and-coming artists performing in front of four of the biggest names in the music industry, who then select and work with the artists as coaches. For the open call auditions, producers of the show focus on finding the strongest vocalists to compete in the competition, both solo artists and duos who perform a variety of music such as pop, rock, hip-hop and country, just to name a few.

Contestants need to be 13 years of age or older and meet all other eligibility requirements, and for the audition, it’s all a cappella, with no music accompaniment.

Other young people have competed and even won the coveted title. One contestant from upstate New York, Sawyer Fredericks, was 16 when he won the fan vote during season eight in 2015.  

For Tony and Audra, it was their goal to just give it a try, understand the process, and then see what would happen.

Following a two-hour wait outside with hundreds upon hundreds of people, if not into the thousand-plus mark, Audra and Tony were led into a warehouse-size room, where they waited another hour. Both were eager and nervous during the wait, but explained part of the positive experience was mingling amongst other contestants. Most people, they said, were cordial and wanted to know more about each other, and also passed time by singing together.

As the spotlight got closer, the duo was escorted into an audition room with ten other contestants where they sang in front of a single judge.

Tony and Audra chose to sing, “Rhythm of Love,” by the Grammy nominated and chart-topping group, Plain White T’s.

The judge explained that they could start wherever they wanted within the song, so the duo chose to sing their 45 seconds at the chorus and bridge of the 3:28 tune.

Although, in the end, the duo did not get what is referred to as a “call back,” they explained that the judge thanked them for coming and also offered encouragement to keep trying.

Their passion for singing and playing music actually began in elementary school and both have participated in several school drama productions. Audra’s favorite was her sophomore year role as Will Scarlet in “Robin Hood,” and for Tony, he recalled a favorite part he played in “Who’s Dying to be a Millionaire.”  

In addition, both have participated in band and chorus at school, and along the way, both picked up guitar, while Audra plays trumpet and Tony plays percussion.

Taking advantage of opportunities on the local scene, Tony and Audra have stepped up to the microphone in Owego for open mic night at Carol’s Coffee & Art Bar, and have performed elsewhere, too, including a special event at Ransom Steele Tavern in Apalachin.

In the immediate future, Audra and Tony look forward to their high school graduation. Audra has sights on pursuing the chemical engineering field, while Tony is looking toward the recording arts.

As for The Voice, both Tony and Audra were pleased with encouragement and support they received from their families, friends and teachers. They plan to continue singing as a duo, yet haven’t decided if they will choose a more formal duo name, and would like to record together some day.

When asked if they would try again at another open call audition for The Voice, both said, “We would do it again!”