Ex-ABQ resident loses ‘Voice’ battle
Ilianna Viramontes fell to a teammate
Ilianna Viramontes won a spot in the battle round of NBC’s “The Voice” last week.
And the former Albuquerque resident was in the spotlight yet again on Tuesday night.
Viramontes was picked to battle fellow teammate Chloe Kohanski. Last week on the show, judges Miley Cyrus and Blake Shelton competed to get Viramontes on their team. Cyrus eventually won out.
Cyrus put the two singers — who were similar in genre — together and chose Helen Reddy’s classic “I Am Woman” for the contestants to sing.
After the battle was over, Cyrus said, “This is a really hard decision for me because I feel like vocally y’all were equal, but I only have the opportunity to work with one of you. … The winner of this battle is Chloe.”
Thus, the decision ends Viramontes’ time on the competition.
Viramontes grew up in Albuquerque, where her father was an FBI agent. She resides in Brentwood, Calif.
Music was a constant in her life, despite moving around a lot.
Viramontes joined the school choir to pursue her passion for music full time. The choir performed at Carnegie Hall, which convinced her to take music more seriously.
Auditioning for “The Voice” was her first time on the national stage.
“It was definitely nerve-wracking,” she said of the audition process. “It was the best decision I ever made.”