ST. PETERS, Mo. — A St. Louis-area teenager is earning national attention after stepping onto one of TV’s biggest stages.
Olivia “Liv” Ciara, a 16-year-old junior at St. Dominic High School, performed Sabrina Carpenter’s hit Espresso during the blind auditions of Season 28 of The Voice.
Although none of the celebrity coaches turned their chairs, Ciara said the experience was one she’ll never forget.
“During my blind audition, it was definitely one of the most nerve-wracking things I’ve ever experienced,” Ciara said. “I perform with my dad’s band, and I feel like all of my performance experience prepared me for being on The Voice. But I feel like the moment you step on stage, it’s a completely different feeling.”
She described the crowd as smaller than expected, about 150 people in the audience, but said the presence of the stage and coaches made the room feel much larger. “I kind of just performed my heart out,” Ciara said. “I didn’t end up getting a chair turn, but I remember receiving such great feedback from the coaches and they really kind of just inspired me to keep working.”
Country legend Reba McEntire and pop star Niall Horan both praised Ciara’s talent, with McEntire saying she had a “gorgeous voice”. Niall said that it all came down to her song choice, saying that Liv needs to give herself more room to show off how good of a singer she is.
“It honestly didn’t feel real,” she said. “I couldn’t believe they were talking to me. But in the moment, they just seemed like regular people who were really, really talented.”
Ciara even got the chance to give the coaches suckers, a nod to a family story about her dad once giving one to a lesser-known Michael Bublé at a birthday party gig nearly 20 years ago.
Her choice of Espresso, she said, was about showing her performance energy. “I love to sing all types of music, but I feel like that song really kind of resembled me in the sense that I love to perform. I love to move and dance around while I’m singing.”
The reaction back home has been just as uplifting. She said, “When I was finally able to kind of tell everyone, everyone was so, so excited and so proud. I remember all my friends were calling me like, tell me all about it, tell me what happened. And it was so, so cool. The fact that my school is really proud of me and they gave me a shout out — on social media. That’s really special.”
“Even though I didn’t get a chair turn, they were very uplifting and motivating and telling me things like this isn’t the end of your journey.” she said.
Ciara, who has been singing since she was a toddler and also plays piano and guitar, said she plans to continue pursuing music seriously. “I honestly couldn’t see myself doing anything else,” she said. “Music is so special, and I want to write songs and perform so other people can experience that connection.”
And if she had a dream duet? “I would love to sing with Niall,” she said with a laugh. “He’s such a storyteller when he performs, and he just seems really genuine and passionate about music. That would be insane and amazing.”
As for the future, Ciara hasn’t ruled out another shot at The Voice. “I’m only 16, and there’s so much left in my artistry to develop,” she said. “If I were to have an opportunity like that again, I would definitely take it.
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