She was, admittedly, a little rough around the edges when she first appeared on the X Factor UK. But then, what do you expect? She was just 17 years old.
That’s a hard age no matter who you are or what your aspirations happen to be, so imagine auditioning, at that age, on one of the biggest voice competitions in the world. It was the first time Anelisa Lamola had ever performed in front of anyone, and even though she made it to the top 12 girls in her age category, only afterward did she realize she had no idea what she was doing.
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“When I didn’t make it to the next stage, I cried my eyes out about it,” she recalls.
I kind of lost my confidence really. I didn’t know much about music. I kind of had to go away. It was hard times because I lost my confidence, there was a lot of trolling online. I wasn’t ready for that at 17.
But instead of giving up on her dream, Anelisa spent most of the next decade honing her chops and refining her singing skills, all while attending college and working multiple jobs. All that hard work paid off, though, when she came in for her second audition in 2016. She wanted to prove to the judges, but more importantly to herself, that she’d truly come into her own.
“Coming back is a lot of pressure, especially after these many years,” she says in comments ahead of her audition, “because the biggest question is going to be, ‘Is she better?'”
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Every single judge thought so, and so do we! For her audition piece, she chose Aretha Franklin’s “(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman,” and her selection couldn’t have been a more perfect fit for a voice Nicole Scherzinger succinctly described as “soulful and classic.”
“For me, you have the best voice in the entire competition that I’ve heard so far,” she added.
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And Simon cheers her perseverance, saying he thinks she was “right to come back however many years later. It’s more than just a good voice, you have an amazing recording voice.â€
Anelisa was eventually eliminated, but she had to have felt vindicated by how far she’s come, and being eliminated wasn’t enough to get her to hang up her entertainer’s hat, either! She’s since joined Disney and is receiving rave reviews for her performances, including for her recent role as Rafiki from “The Lion King.”
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Check out the video below to see Anelisa’s powerful audition, and share if you admire you perseverance and strength to pursue her dreams!
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