Lucia Flores-Wiseman, the Maple Valley singer turning heads and chairs to make it all the way to the final five of the singing competition series “The Voice,” is all about local music. Though she’s made a name for herself on one of the most-watched and longest-running music shows in the country, which kicks off its two-night finale at 8 p.m. Monday on NBC, she’s most interested in returning home to continue growing her career here.
“The show has really given me lots of opportunities, lots of exposure, and after this I know there are so many opportunities that are going to be coming my way. I’m just really hoping I can stay in Seattle and build a music thing even more,” Flores-Wiseman said in an interview. “There are so many great musicians from Seattle, and if I can add my name to the roster, that would be so wonderful.”
Flores-Wiseman said that when she was growing up she was most inspired by Washington’s own Brandi Carlile, who she listened to “all the time” for her beautiful songwriting. She said that, having grown up in Maple Valley on the outskirts of Seattle, she felt a connection to Carlile and her origins as a small-town Washingtonian who then became one of the most acclaimed singers out there. Flores-Wiseman even performed with Carlile at a local concert put on by the Tahoma Schools Foundation in June 2018, where they sang the Leonard Cohen song “Hallelujah.”
“I just love the power that she brings, that she really writes about what it’s like to be human and the stories and the pains and the accomplishments,” Flores-Wiseman said. “Then my parents would definitely play Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, Nirvana and Soundgarden. So many of those.”
In a full-circle moment on the show, Flores-Wiseman even sang the beloved Soundgarden song “Black Hole Sun.” The song became an indelible part of the region’s music history because of the vocals of the quiet cook at Ray’s Boathouse who became a rock god: the iconic late Seattle singer Chris Cornell. Reflecting on her choice to sing the song, Flores-Wiseman said she knew there would be a lot of expectations to live up to, but she’s happy with the performance that she gave.
“It was so challenging in that I grew up listening to the song all the time,” Flores-Wiseman said. “There was some doubt and some concern going into the song because it’s so important to the Seattle music scene and I was so worried that Seattle would be disappointed. There were so many thoughts that I had, and even to this day, when I’m looking back at some of the comments, some people love my version of it and some people really just hate it. What I really learned from that song is pushing boundaries and, then at the end of the day, not caring what people thought about my cover.”
Specifically, she said she focused on conveying the emotion of the song in her own unique way and that she remains really proud of what she did with the song, trusting that being herself is what’s most important rather than being perfect.
Whatever happens in the finale (the winner will be announced in Tuesday’s episode), Flores-Wiseman said that this won’t be the end for her as an artist. She’s currently working on an EP, has an upcoming show at THING Festival in August at Remlinger Farms in Carnation and is hoping to perform at more other big local venues soon.
“I want to make sure that top five on ‘The Voice’ isn’t the last thing, you know? I just really want to be able to expand more, so I’m crossing my fingers that I can continue making Seattle proud and have people thinking of going back to Seattle for music.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated which network to watch “The Voice” on. It’s on NBC.
“The Voice”
The finale of the 27th season will be a two-part event. The final five will compete at 8 p.m. May 19 and 9 p.m. May 20 on NBC, with the winner being announced during the May 20 episode.
Chase Hutchinson: [email protected].