By Genoa Barrow | OBSERVER Senior Staff Writer
After putting his dream of singing on hold to raise his child, a local man is finding his “voice.”
Talakai, 34, of Yuba City is competing on the NBC competition show “The Voice.” The Rio Linda High School graduate made it past the blind audition phase on last week’s taped episode. He got singer and celebrity coach John Legend to turn his chair and say he wants to work with him as the show progresses.
Talakai said he was shocked and grateful to have the “Ordinary People” singer choose him. The two men share physical similarities, which was mentioned on the show and on social media.
“Thirty seconds into it when John finally turned around, I was like, ‘Oh, my goodness, this is crazy,’” Talakai told The OBSERVER. “First of all, looking at him across from me, I was like, ‘OK, now I see what people were talking about. Now I see the comparison because he does look like he could be a relative.”
Talakai is in Los Angeles now, preparing for the “battle rounds,” where contestants picked for mentorship by Legend sing against each other to advance to the next level.
Being on the popular competition show is part of a long journey for Talakai. He grew up with his grandparents, but after his grandpa passed away when he was 10, Talakai was repeatedly abused. He ran away and found a shelter in Sacramento with the help of other unhoused individuals. The shelter contacted Child Protective Services, and he entered into foster care.
“I definitely used singing to get me through foster care, as far as a therapeutic thing,” the performer said.
He’d listen to Usher and try to mimic his voice.
“He’s a songwriter. I also love writing music and I just thought that it would be the perfect blend.”
Talakai also studied popular groups such as 112 and Jagged Edge, before developing his own sound.
“I’m very influenced by R&B music,” Talakai said. “That’s why I thought it would be perfect for John to be able to mentor me because I grew up listening to his music as well.”
Back in the day. Talakai released a song, “Beautiful Creations” on MySpace. He boasts having accumulated more than a million views. The song garnered him some local success and earned him a spot on several stages, but he’d eventually put music on the backburner to focus on working and taking care of his family.
“I thought auditioning for ‘The Voice’ would be a great way for me to put myself back into doing music again and getting back on the stage and just feeling comfortable being around that environment and being with people within the music industry and getting some feedback from people that know what they’re doing,” Talakai said.
His mother and husband accompanied him to the blind auditions. Having them in his corner means a lot, he said.
Locals may recognize Talakai as a server at the Tower Cafe on Broadway. The restaurant was among those posting their support of him online.
“I’m grateful for the hometown support,” he said.
He’s also thankful for social media and having viewers show him love there. Performers like Justin Bieber, Lil Nas X and Doja Cat were discovered through viral videos and their social media presence and have gone on to huge success in the industry.
“I feel like social media changed the game,” Talakai said, citing Bieber specifically. “A lot of us dream to be able to get the same successes he’s been able to get, to get to where he’s at right now.
“After (releasing ‘Beautiful Creations’), I was able to link up with other artists and collaborate with them and kind of just navigate my way, the best that I could to my abilities without having help,” he continued. “But I feel like in the end, you do need to create a solid team because you really can’t do everything by yourself. You really need a solid team and a solid foundation to push you. I feel like that’s something that I learned over the years. Now, I’m trying to utilize social media to the best that I can. I’m still learning and I’m still growing as an artist and seeing other influencers and artists just bloom whenever they put something out. It’s really inspiring.”
“The Voice” is in its 24th season. Last season’s winner, Gina Miles, was from Sacramento.
Talakai is in Los Angeles, taping new episodes.
“Right now we are in the battles and that’s when we’re going head to head to stay on Team Legend. There’s so much incredible talent this season that I’m so excited to see everybody else’s battles. I’m so excited to see how they turn out. And I want everybody to tune in just to see how it turns out.”
Talakai is humbled to have made it this far. He’s got his eye on the show’s prize – $100,000 and a recording contract – but said he’s just grateful to soak up everything “The Voice” has to offer.
“I feel like, literally, the prize is always already won,” he said. “For me right now, being on this platform is a prize in itself. Just meeting all the amazing people that I’ve met, throughout this journey, all the artists – we’ve really formed friendships over the time of being on the show – feels like it’s a prize in itself.
“I’m just really appreciative of this whole experience. I’m taking away gratitude, gratitude for the whole thing and just living in the moment and then being able to be a sponge, soaking up as much information as I can and, and just evolving and growing as a person and as a musician.”
Talakai has developed a friendship with fellow contestant Kristen Brown. He also went to high school with Shane Q, a contestant in season 17.
“It was great to see him make it to the top 10 and just going on there and amazing people with his talent, his voice and just his courage to even go on that stage. It was inspiring to me. I was like, ‘You know what, I have to really, really try to do this for myself.’”
After taking a break from music, he’s ready to reinvigorate his career.
“I just feel like it’s definitely my time to invest in myself.”
Fans of the show will ultimately call in and decide who wins, but Talakai envisions putting out more music in the near future. His album would likely be R&B and hip-hop fusion, but he wouldn’t rule out going country or country pop, as people often tell him that there’s a twang in his voice.
“It’s not something I’m heavily into, but I’m definitely into learning more about other genres and branching out as well,” Talakai said. “That’s what I love about music, it’s constantly evolving. It’s never just going to be the same. It’s constantly evolving with time and with time, it just gets better. I’m so happy to be a part of it.”
“The Voice” airs Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC. Episodes are also streamed a day later on Peacock.