Zae Romeo a 21-year-old from McKinney, Texas earned a 4-chair turn on NBC’s “The Voice” after singing a cover of Falling by Harry Styles.
Growing up in the foster care system, Romeo was adopted along with his siblings. After watching his brother get into music, he also took interest.
“Around 10 or 11 I sang “We Three Kings”, of which I sang a tiny verse at church and I was super nervous,” he said.
After graduating Prosper High School, Romeo attended Navarro College in Corsicana, Texas where he studied vocal performance.
“The idea was to be a vocal coach, so I did vocal performance and piano performance,” he said. “I was taking basic piano classes and then on top of that vocal performance classes. I was also in all the choirs and theater. I was also leading worship at the church down the street.”
Romeo decided to audition for ‘The Voice’ in 2019, where he and a friend drove to Houston. After waiting hours to try out, he learned he didn’t make it.
“I was like, I’m never going to do this again, and I didn’t audition for a long time and then it was kind of a spur in the moment thing, and I was like, I’m going to do it and see what happens,” he said.
Little did Romeo know his emotional cover of Harry Styles ‘Falling’ would earn him a 4-chair turn on ‘The Voice’.
“Harry Styles was a song I could sing and talk about the emotion behind it and how I could connect to the song,” he said.
Romeo said he was nervous but not nervous when preforming on stage before the moment of getting all four coaches to turn around.
“I was thinking, ‘this is so bad no one is going to turn’. Then Kelly turned right, and that moment and I was like ‘ahhh’, he laughed. “I kept singing and I saw her face and realized this is happening.”
After seeing all 4-chairs turn, his only thought was that he needed to make sure he was positioned correctly. Romeo said he chose Nick as his coach because of the connection he made with his singing.
Romeo closed his eyes and said “I pick Nick”. “it just felt right, he is such a good coach. I feel like I fit really well with his team.”
Romeo wants to inspire others with his story and journey along with his love for music.
“I get a lot of messages from people saying they are in the foster care system and this gives me hope,” he said. “ The change is already happening and it’s starting now.”
While Zae lost in a knock-out round, he was saved by Kelly Clarkson. After all, he was a four-chair turn!
