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never mind singing for

millions of people on television . But then again , there ’ s only one Hailey Mia Osorio , the 14-year-old Clifton resident who took NBC ’ s The Voice by storm , finishing fourth in the show ’ s most recent season , which concluded in �ecember .

Hailey ’ s smooth voice is reminiscent of artist Olivia Rodrigo , one of several singers she takes inspiration from and whose songs she performed during the competition .

For viewers , hearing Hailey sing was a new experience . Those who are close to her , though , have had the privilege since she was little .

T�EROADTO T�E �OICE

Hailey says she can ’ t remember a time when she wasn ’ t listening to music and singing along with �ustin Bieber or Nicki Minaj� in fact , her whole family sings for pleasure , she says . On NBC ’ s website for The Voice , she shares that when she was 8 , music helped her get through surgery to correct the vision in her right eye . After that , she taught

herself how to read music and play the piano .

Around the same time , she began taking voice lessons in New York City with �avid McCall , the head of �ocal �evelopment at New York �ocal Coaching , and went “ religiously ” for two years every week .“ It definitely played a big part to get me where Iamnow ,” Hailey says . She says she still stays in contact with McCall and that he was extremely supportive during her run on The Voice .

Hailey ’ s mother , Gina Cardona , approached her daughter in �ecember 2020 about trying out for the show , and forwarded her an email about the virtual open casting call . The teenager spent an entire night preparing for her audition , and , despite suffering from an allergy attack , managed to send in a video of herself singing “ You Say ” by Lauren �aigle .

A couple of hours later , she received an email from the show re�uesting acallback , for which she had a two-to-three-hour interview about a month later , and was told that show representatives would get back to her inMarch . As time passed , she grew more and more nervous that they had forgotten about her .

Towards the end of March , she

was out with her father when her mother messaged her to tell her to pick up her phone when it rang . On the other side ofthe line was someone from The Voice , who invited her to be �own out to Los Angeles to audition for the show . “ I just started freaking out ,” she says .

Hailey says she felt so special arriving atthe airport because someone from production was waiting for her and her mom , and they were driven to the hotel . �ue to strict coronavirus protocols , once they arrived there , they had to �uarantine for eight days — along with atleast another 100 others who were also auditioning for the show . �uring that time , she and the other contestants practiced for their blind auditions . Once �uarantine was over , they went to rehearsals and dealt with hair , make-up and wardrobe . She was the youngest contestant on the show this year , and had the chance to be the youngest winner ever .

Hailey says she knew it would be difficult to handle her nerves . She told herself that if she was truly passionate enough and wanted todo this for the rest of her life , she would have to forget about negativity and do what she came there to do .

Hailey sang “ You Hurt MeFirst ” by Tate McRae , with �udge Kelly Clarkson commenting on what a