Lately, in competition shows like “The Voice,” “American Idol” and “X-Factor” there has been a trend of bilingual singers competing and singing their song in both English and Spanish. This could be because lately those three shows have had Latino judges. American Idol has Jennifer Lopez, the “X-Factor” had “Paulina Rubio”, and now “The Voice” has Shakira.
In season 4 of “The Voice” Shakira had Latina singers Monique Abbadie and Mary Miranda on her team. When they sang their songs in Spanish, the other coaches knew they had a disadvantage. Bilingual music is also starting to become popular again in season 6. Melissa Jimenez is a Mexican- Greek singer who performed on day three of the blind auditions. Shakira and Usher turned their chairs but Usher’s pitch worked better and he landed Melissa on his team. When she sang a piece of the song in Spanish, Usher looked at Shakira and said “Oh man! That’s not fair.” Melissa sang an Alicia Key song and Usher mentioned that he had made history with that song and wanted to make history with her. Shakira responded by saying “Speaking of history, how many Latinas have made history in the U.S.? You could be next.”
In the past seasons of each of these shows there has been a growth in Latino contestants. Karina Iglesias rocked “The Voice” stage in season 4 along with Cathia. In season 12 of American Idol, contestant Devin Velez sang a bilingual rendition of “Somos Novios.” Also in that same season Victoria Acosta sang “Big Girls Don’t Cry.” Diego Val was on season 3 of “The Voice” and made it on Team CeeLo and Julio Cesar Castillo was a Mariachi singer that same season. When it comes to “The X-Factor” Paulina Rubio and contestant Carlito Olivero made it to the finals but lost to Alex and Sierra. With blind audition still taking place, be on the lookout for more Latino talent. Here is a video of Melissa Jiménez singing a bilingual version of Alicia Key's "Ain't Got You."
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