Wants to get a college degree, says teen singing sensation.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Indian American teenager Juhi Pathak, 16, who made a big splash on the reality singing show “The Voice” on NBC, does have one clear goal in mind, despite her early success in the music world: she wants to be an aerospace engineer.
As a high school senior, academics are as important to her as music, said Pathak in an interview to The American Bazaar.
“On the show I said that I was a little split between music and school, and that made me look a little torn, but I’m pretty clear on wanting to do both engineering and music,” says Pathak.
A resident of Franklin, Tennessee, Pathak auditioned for the hit NBC reality program, the episode for which was aired on September 30.
“I come from a very musical family,” says Pathak. “My dad has always been really into rock-and-roll music and my mom actually does a lot of Indian singing, so I grew up around music.”
Born in Virginia, she and her family moved to the Toronto area some years after she was born and lived there until about nine years ago, at which point they settled down near Nashville. A city known for being the home of Elvis Presley, the “King of Rock and Roll,” it’s of little surprise that Pathak took a liking to that style of music.
“I play guitar, and a little piano,” says Pathak when asked if singing was her only musical avenue. “I also write music and edit on GarageBand and stuff.”
Pathak auditioned for The Voice earlier this year, when she read that open auditions were being held in large metropolitan areas throughout the country. Although Nashville apparently wasn’t being visited by talent scouts, Pathak saw that there was an opportunity to try out in New York, and immediately asked her dad is she could go.
“He said ‘sure’ and then asked me when it was, and I told him it was in three days,” she recollects. “He didn’t want to go all the way to New York on such short notice because it’s not a city he’s really familiar with, but there was an audition in Houston, which is much closer, and I have an aunt there. So my dad said I could go there and try out.”
The way the process works was that Pathak tried out off-camera for talent scouts, who then decided she had what it took to sing for the four celebrity judges: Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green, Adam Levine, and Blake Shelton. For readers who don’t watch The Voice, it has a rather unique system of selection and elimination that helps set it apart from the typical “American Idol”-type of show.
“It’s kind of a confusing show, I’m not going to lie,” admitted Pathak.
Per the format of the show, the four coaches listen to each contestant “blind,” meaning they can’t see them while they’re singing. Once one of the coaches likes what they hear, they can hit a button and turn around to see the singer. If more than one coach hits the button, the singer chooses between them for who’s going to be their coach.
In Pathak’s case, her rendition of the song “Mercy” by British singer Duffy floored the four celebrity coaches, with buttons being pressed by Aguilera – perhaps best known for her late-90s pop ballads like “Genie in a Bottle” – and Green, who rose to super-stardom some years ago with his song “Forget You.” The two lobbied hard to get Pathak onto their 12-singer team, and ultimately Pathak chose Green, who told her that he would “fight for her” to win the competition, and likened her charm and appeal to being like that of a younger sister.
After that point, Pathak entered the “Battle Rounds,” which is when singers on each team sing alongside other team members, with their coaches deciding who sang the best and therefore gets to continue on the show. Despite strong performances, however, Pathak found herself on the cusp of elimination in late October. Luckily, she was then “stolen” by coach Adam Levine (of Maroon 5 fame) and was able to stay in the competition.
Unfortunately, after being saved by Levine, Pathak was eliminated from The Voice the following week during the “Knockout Rounds.” The key difference between this round and the former one is that in the Battle Rounds, you sing a duet with the teammate you’re competing with, while in the Knockout Rounds, both contestants sing completely different songs one after the other.
“I’m really happy for the teammate who did stay, but it’s kind of frustrating because the reason Cee Lo didn’t keep me on his team [at the first elimination] is because he wanted someone who was 100% all-in committed, and because I have interests in technology and so on, it made it seem like I wasn’t fully invested,” explains Pathak, adding that she’s grateful to Adam Levine for giving her another shot.
In the meantime, Pathak says she records demos and is confident that no matter what she chooses to do in her future, music will continue to play a big part in her life. She’s not going to let her defeat on “The Voice” deter her from music.
“It’s what I love to do, and now that I have more exposure, I’m going to do what I can to make the most of it,” she says. “Being on [the show] has given me confidence and assurance because of the superstars on the show who appreciated my talent.”
For anyone else looking to follow her path and sing at a national level, Pathak says “just go for it. The worst thing that could happen is that you don’t get through, and it’s honestly not a big deal if you don’t. I think the biggest thing for music nowadays isn’t if you have a great voice or an awesome face or anything like that, it’s more about what you can produce, what kinds of songs you write, and what kind of style you have. So I think it’s important to hone in on originality.”
With such poise and vocal prowess at the young age of 16, Pathak will surely go far in school, singing, and anything else she chooses to do in life.
Pathak’s audition performance – and the coaches’ fight to recruit her – can be seen below, while the rest of her performances can be seen at the official NBC “The Voice” website.
[Photo courtesy of NBC Universal.]
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com