Fil-Am teen on what it’s like to work with Adam Levine on ‘The Voice’

MANILA, Philippines – Fil-Am contestant Nathan Hermida’s stay on The Voice 8 may not have been a “sure thing,” but he said that he’s learned a lot from coach Adam Levine. 

In an interview with Rappler on Friday, April 10, the 17-year old Boston-raised high school student spoke about Adam’s coaching style:

“His coaching style is kind of laid-back and he lets you do the work and he listens to it. I feel like he puts a lot of trust in the artist, that you go home and practice because I think he looks for the hardworking vocalists on the show.” 

During his recent performance of “Chains” by Nick Jonas, Adam had some issues with Nathan’s vocals, but said that he’s improved from the time he started.  

“This kid, when I first met him, was so uncomfortable on stage and I could tell that your biggest hurdle was gonna be performing. Honest to God, there were some issues with the vocal stuff, but I have to tell you man, you gave 100% for the effort and the fearlessness that you had to show to come up here and really perform,” Adam said on the show.

Nathan agreed with what Adam said after the performance, and that Adam’s advice on “letting go” helped Nathan work on his confidence. 

“Well, for the overall competition, Adam just wanted me to let go, to not hold back in terms of performance because I felt like through every performance opened [me] up a little more and a little more and then in ‘Chains’ he was really proud that even if it wasn’t vocally perfect, that I was able to really let myself go.”

Nathan’s ‘The Voice 8’ journey

The 17-year old may have been raised in Boston, but Nathan said that he found his singing roots in a very Pinoy way, doing karaoke at family parties. At school, aside from singing, Nathan was also very skilled in science, particularly Biology, even saying that his biology teacher made him want to become a teacher, too. 

Making the decision to pursue music over science was challenging for Nathan, especially since his parents wanted him to go to college. However, he joined The Voice to prove that he could make a career out of playing music, which he’s currently slowly building through his YouTube channel.

In fact, people from The Voice  contacted him through YouTube but he didn’t answer it at first.  

“I got the message on YouTube that they invited me to audition and at first I really didn’t answer it. But then later on they messaged me again and I finally answered to the audition.”

“I was singing and then seeing them turn around, I just couldn’t help but smile. I was just really happy because of the blind audition and it just reassured me.” He would then move on to the blind auditions, where he performed Miguel’s “Sure Thing,” and when he saw Adam and Christina turn their chairs, he was ecstatic.  

Adam even said that he’d make Nathan the centerpiece of his team should Nathan join. “I’d make you the centerpiece of my team because you are that good.” 

He would prove to be a tough contender in the Battle Rounds, beating pop-rock singer and fellow Team Adam co-star Josh Batstone after being paired up to sing Ed Sheeran’s “Thinking Out Loud.” (Skip to 0:47 to see the snippet.)

 

He moved on to the Knockouts, where his soulful performance of Sam Smith’s “Leave Your Lover” both got Adam’s vote into the Top 20 and a compliment from Sam himself!

 

@nathanhermida Im a little bit in love with you x thank you for choosing that song. It means a lot to me x

— SAM SMITH (@samsmithworld) March 24, 2015

 

However, the winning streak for Nathan would come to an end at the Live Playoffs, where his performance of “Chains” didn’t sit so well with Adam, because of some vocal issues he found with the song.

 

“‘Chains’ was a song that Adam picked. It wasn’t on my list, but if I had to choose what to sing in the competition, it would be “Let’s Stay Together” by Al Green. I think that’s such a classic song, and it’s one of my all-time favorite songs too,” said Nathan. 

While he was sad to go, he said that he’s learned a lot from his brief stay on The Voice, saying:

“My experience on The Voice was really a dream because people expect it to be work on work. But it was really fun ‘cause there’s a lot of people involved, and you make friends with everybody on it. Everyday just felt like you were hanging out, and singing.”

His family, however, had a sweet message for him too, post-elimination:

“My family just kept telling me that even though I got eliminated, that I’m the winner in their eyes and that I should feel lucky that I even got these opportunities, and not to take them for granted.”

Advice for aspiring artists and the future

Nathan also said that when it comes to once-in-a-lifetime opportunities like this, never let it pass:

“My advice for aspiring artists is to take every opportunity that you can. Never let all these just go to waste.”

He also hopes to be improving his music career and maybe going to college in the next couple of years. “In the next couple of years, I hope to see myself going to college and going through that, but also posting covers on YouTube and just being more active online, basically – to gain more exposure.” – Rappler.com

The Voice US Season 8 airs Tuesdays & Wednesdays, 7.50pm, same day As The U.S. Telecast. Performance Rounds and Results Shows begin April 14. For more details, follow AXN on Facebook and on Twitter.