Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Paula Deanda, 24, of San Antonio, Texas, auditioned for The Voice with “The Way.” Midway through the song, she displayed remarkable range. And that was enough to prompt chair turns from Blake and Shakira. Blake complimented the way she attacked the song. And despite expressing admiration for Shakira, pre-performance, Paula joined Team Blake.

Her background: Paula was introduced to us as a singer looking for her second chance at stardom. She says music has always been a part of her life. When she was 16, she wrote a song called “Doin’ Too Much” and says she personally visited radio stations to encourage them to play it. Lo and behold, she wound up being signed by Clive Davis. She wound up opening for Rihanna at one point and recorded two albums in English and Spanish. But she says only one was released before she was dropped by her label. “It’s been rough, but at the same time it’s been a humbling experience” she says of doing music on her own for the last five years.

On choosing Blake: “Blake is amazing. He has a track record of his winning seasons. I came in this competition thinking I wanted to be on Usher or Adam, but I wound up on Team Blake. It’s meant to be. I’m looking forward to him teaching me things I don’t know. I’m most excited about learning. I think the learning aspect will be amazing for me.”

What the show didn’t show: Her self-titled debut album, released in 2007 when she was just 16, peaked at number 54 and produced two gold singles, the aforementioned “Doin’ Too Much” and “Walk Away,” which also cracked the top 20 on Billboard’s Hot 100. While her second album was never released, a single from it was — “Roll the Credits” in 2009 — but it failed to chart. Since then, Paula has released a trio of singles — “Besos” in 2011, “Your Place” in 2012 and “Shut Up and Love Me” last year. “Being signed before was amazing,” she said in a conference call with the media. “I loved every minute of it, but it also has its downfalls in (that) I never got to come out with my second album and I just kind of — I’m starting from the bottom up again so The Voice is a perfect platform for me to be on and to show people that I’m still doing it. You can still do it. Never give up on your dreams.” She’s also looking forward to the coaching she’ll receive: “I’ve never had one-on-one vocal coaching, and I think that will help me in the long run, too.”

On iTunes: Her audition song and all the released mentioned above. “Walk Away,” her biggest hit, and “Your Place” are embedded below.

Update: She lost to Sisaundra Lewis in the battle round; they sang “Do What You Want.”

Keeping up with Paula:
Twitter: @pauladeanda
Facebook
YouTube
YouTube Vevo

Editor’s Note: For links to profiles of all the Season 6 artists on The Voice, go here.

“Fine China”

“Your Place”

“Walk Away”