Yeshha Hilkiah dela Calzada became the first-ever contestant of this year’s edition of the country’s most popular reality-singing competition on national TV, “The Voice Kids.” The seven-year-old girl from Cebu performed the song “Saan Darating Ang Umaga,” which was originally popularized by Raymond Lauchengco.
During the first blind auditions of The Voice Kids on Saturday night, May 28, the aspiring young Cebuana singer impressed the judges with her soaring voice. Due to her impressive performance, veteran singer and Broadway star coach Lea Salonga became the first judge to turn her chair.
Yessha Hilkiah dela Calzada hails from the coastal town of Liloan in Cebu and tried her luck to audition for the singing competition. It was not only Lea Salonga who was impressed by the young singer but also megastar Sharon Cuneta and rock icon Bamboo.
According to Megastar Sharon Cuneta, who replaced pop Star Sarah Geronimo, the young singer from Cebu really nailed it and the notes that Yessha did during the audition is indeed a difficult one, even her a veteran singer could find it hard to hit.
Watch the Performance Video of Yessha Hilkiah dela Calzada:
Sharon Cuneta was quoted as saying “”As a loving mother to children who love to sing also, I’m really impressed by you. Hindi ko kayang tamaan iyong mga nota mong iyon pero kaya kitang tulungan na lagyan pa ng emosyon iyong mga kanta mo,” she said.
At the end of Yessha’s audition she decided to pick coach Lea Salonga to be her mentor in the competition. The Tony-award winning singer-actress Lea Salonga even called Esang De Torres, a member of her team during the last season to convince Yessha dela Calzada to pick her as her coach.
