Taking A Second Chance: Kaitlyn Velez’s Journey To ‘The Voice’

COPIAGUE, NY — Since its first season in 2004, Long Island’s Kaitlyn Velez, 21, would sit down with her family to watch NBC’s The Voice on television. But last month, her family sat down and watched her perform on the screen before a national audience, soaring through the blind auditions and earning a spot as a contestant on the show.

Velez began writing music at the age of 14. Growing up in a musical family, the Ronkonkoma native and now Copiague resident told Patch it was a “no-brainer” for her to be interested in the arts. But it wasn’t until she experienced the “dramas” of high-school that she first put pen to paper.

“I was just really inspired,” said Velez, an alumni of Connetquot High School. “Just kind of hearing everything that was going on and putting myself in situations that literally had nothing to do with me.”

In her audition episode, Velez also said that as a Latina growing up in a predominantly white area, she’d feel isolated and turn to music for comfort.

“It's a very hard thing,” said Velez. ”There were definitely things I had to navigate that obviously, my peers didn't have to.”

While her experience was difficult at times, Velez told Patch she now feels more confident in her identity.

“I've learned to just embrace what makes me different and be comfortable in my own skin,” said Velez. Living on Long Island, she said, has led her to that new level of confidence in herself.

Ultimately, Velez claimed the support of her close friends and family is what motivated her to pursue a career in songwriting. Since then, Velez has gone on to release her own music on Spotify.

“I knew deep down it's what I wanted to do, but I didn’t really know if I had the guts to do it,” said Velez. “But everyone around me — friends and family included — were really what pushed me to just go for it.”

Her community’s encouragement led her to audition not once, but twice,- for the singing competition. Velez told Patch she first auditioned two years ago, but didn’t make it to the final round. She then gave it another shot after a casting manager reached out via email, asking her to audition a second time.

“I was like, why not?” said Velez. “It would be an amazing opportunity, why not just go for it?”

When deciding on Mike Posner’s “Please Don’t Go” for her audition song, Velez said she wanted to stand out by covering a pop song on the ukulele for a different sound. Born in 2000, Velez said songwriters of the 2010s inspired her to create music at an impressionable age.

“Seeing all these pop stars and songwriters kind of inspired me to do what I'm doing now,” she said. “So I really wanted to take a song from that era and make it my own.“

And she was successful — two out of the four judges invited her onto their teams.

Velez told Patch she didn’t expect any judges to turn around, and was taken aback when
John Legend and Blake Shelton simultaneously hit their buzzers early on in her performance.

“I wasn't letting myself even think about that,” said Velez. “I was like, ‘No way, this is not real!’”

Shelton and Legend both praised her for her unique musical style.

“I feel like you have an interesting perspective and nobody sounds like you, probably on the show this season,” said Legend. ”You can carve your own niche.”

The other judges also gave Velez high praise for her performance, and lamented not hitting their buzzers.

“Feeling regretful!” said Grande, as Legend gave Velez critique.

Ultimately, Velez chose Shelton because of an instant connection she felt when receiving his feedback.

“Blake very much was like, ‘I hear that you're a songwriter, I hear it in your voice,” said Velez. “He just felt right to me.”

Velez also credited the music department at Connetquot High School for giving her the tools and providing an environment to succeed as a musician.

“The music department was literally my entire life. I was involved in everything,” said Velez. “Me and all my best friends — the music department was our home.”

She added: “I honestly don't even know if I'd be doing what I’m doing now, if not for being a part of the department and the teachers that I had. I’m very grateful.”

Be sure to watch The Voice Monday and Tuesday nights on NBC.