Sasha Hurtado is an American singer and songwriter, most popular from appearing in Season 22 of “The Voice”. She’s one of the most talked about artists in the show, even after her premature elimination from the singing competition. A member of Team Camila Cabello, Team John Legend as well as Team Gwen Stefani, she mesmerized fans all over the nation with her performances.
So what has the rising star been up to since “The Voice”? Follow along to find out more about Sasha Hurtado.
Who is Sasha Hurtado?
Her early life and family background
Sasha Hurtado was born on the 2nd December 2003 in Dallas, Paulding County, Georgia, USA to a Mexican father and Floridian native mother, and raised along with her older brother. According to her bio, her family is a ‘multicultural military’ one; her grandfather was a US Navy veteran. Concerning her schooling, she attained her primary education at Hiram Elementary followed by PB Ritch Middle School. For her high school, she opted to be home schooled, and even managed to matricuate early in December of 2021. On the decision she said, ‘… You only get to be a high schooler once. Although I didn’t get the typical teenage high school experience, it’s a risk I decided to take, and now I wouldn’t change it for the world…’. Thanks to the decision she made, Sasha was able to focus on her passion and pursue her dream. She cites the decision as one of the reasons she was fortunate enough to get the best opportunities and work on them.
Her interest in singing
Interestingly, Sasha began singing as soon as she could talk. She recalls growing up watching Disney channel shows and TV movies such as “Hannah Montana”, “Jonas Brothers”, “Lemonade Mouth” and “Camp Rock” that really piqued her interest further. She listened to established artists such as Carrie Underwood and Adele, and enjoyed the genres of rock ‘n’ roll and mariachi. Fortunately, her parents recognized her talent, and enrolled her into a vocal class when she was eight years old, followed by a guitar class. By the time she was 12, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in singing, and decided to follow that dream.
The Show— “The Voice”
“The Voice” is an American televised reality singing competition broadcast by NBC. Since it’s initial premiere, it’s had 22 seasons and a number of coaches, contestants and winners. The 22nd season began in September of 2022, with coaches Camila Cabello, Blake Shelton, John Legend and Gwen Stefani as well as host Carson Daly. Each coach has 14 contestants on their teams, whom they coach before performances, help them practice and choose their songs. Throughout the rounds, contestants either depend on their coaches to go further, or the public vote. The contestants battle it out to stand a chance to win a grand prize of $100,000 and a recording deal.
the power behind Sasha Hurtado's voice oh my gosh #thevoice pic.twitter.com/L52MFCg3wm
— The Voice (@NBCTheVoice) September 27, 2022
Her performance in the show
Sasha first gained prominence when she auditioned for the show in early 2022. For her blind audition, she performed Bishop Briggs’ hit song “River”, earning two chair turns from coaches John Legend and Camilla Cabello, ultimately choosing Camilla as her coach. In the next round— the Battles— she went up against fellow team member Devix, and performed “Electric Feel” by MGMT. Unfortunately, her coach chose Devix as the winner of the round, but after facing elimination, coach Gwen Stefani used her steal of the round to add Sasha to her team, explaining that Sasha’s performance was too good and she just needed a ‘little love’ to steer her in the right direction.
The next round was the three-way knockouts where she went up against fellow Team Gwen members, Alyssa and Dayshia, performing “Make it Rain”. Gwen chose Alyssa (who performed “Don’t Stop Me Now”) as the winner of the round, and once again, Sasha was faced with elimination, despite both coaches John and Blake telling Gwen to choose Sasha. In the last few seconds of the round, John used his steal of the round to save Sasha, leaving the teen surprised and thankful to be saved once again. He said, ‘Sasha deserved it and I couldn’t let her go home, she’s been so good throughout these rounds… And she just hit every note so beautifully…’. Fans online praised him for the quick decision to keep Sasha, saying she was too good to let her go.
In the Knockout Rounds, Sasha performed Ed Sheeran’ s “Make it Rain” and advanced to the Top 16 where she performed her rendition of “Tiny Dancer” by Elton John. Before the round, host Carson Daly announced the top two artists (based on public vote) of each group; in Team Legend they were Parijita Bastola and Omar Jose Cardona. He then announced that the coaches could pick one artist to save from elimination, John chose to keep Kim Cruse, leaving the bottom four in each team to battle it out. Sasha went up against Bryce Leatherwood, Kate Kalvach and Kevin Hawkins— depending on an Instant Save through her performance of Sia’s “Elastic Heart”. Unfortunately, Bryce Leatherwood won the instant save, meaning that all three other artists were then eliminated.
Life after the show
Sasha’s run on the show ended just before she managed to enter the Top 13. She ended up being the most stolen artist on season 22 of “The Voice”, so being dubbed the ‘stolen one’. Shortly after leaving the show, Sasha took to her Instagram account to post an emotional and heartfelt message to share what “The Voice” was to her. She wrote, ‘… I truly feel that this show changed my life, in more ways than one. I am extremely introverted & typically have social anxiety when alone. This was my first time traveling alone at 18. It pushed me to open up to people, make friends, speak up for myself, and lean on God… ‘. She is also thankful to have made two close friends— Devix from team Camila and Alyssa Witrado from team Gwen.
What is she up to now?
Singing
In 2020, Sasha produced and self-released two singles: “First” and “Mr. No Good Guy”. On her website, she revealed that her unique music comes from inspiration from soul, indie and pop artists. Unbeknownst to many, the young artist has been gigging since the age of 14, and has since performed at various venues all over the state of Georgia. She has had paid gigs at restaurants and bars, and opened for various acts; she cites the experience as cause for her ability to sing in all genres, and have a diverse set each time.
Her involvement in the local church
Ever since her childhood, Sasha had been singing in her local church, New Salem Church. Alongside her brother, she performed with the adult praise and worship group at age 12. She thanks her involvement in the church worship team for removing her stage fright. After years of leading worship, she learned to be confident in her talent. She says, ‘… Leading worship is a type of feeling that you cannot receive performing anything else, it’s the presence of the Holy Spirit. The best part of worship is how intimate you get to be with God in that moment’.
More about Sasha Hurtado
After learning about what the rising star is up to nowadays, find out more about Sasha Hurtado— her interests, hobbies and more!
- When asked on the origins of her singing talent, Sasha jokingly revealed that her father is tone deaf, while her mother is definitely not a singer. Her brother has been singing for years at church, and also plays guitar, like her. She said, ‘… people always ask where my brother and I get the gift from, and we always say we have no idea!’.
- Unknown to most fans, Sasha is no newbie to televised talent shows; she auditioned for “American Idol” when she was 15. She recalls the terrifying risk she took: flying out for the auditions, performing for celebrity judges, the fear of being rejected, and being televised. Nonetheless, she got to compete on the third season of “American Idol” where she managed to rank top 60.
- Another unknown fact is that she’s been on “The Voice” twice before. At age 13, she was selected for the final callback in Los Angeles for Season 14, and then again when she was 15 for season 18.
- Among the artists she adores are Harry Styles, Greta Van Fleet, Silk Sonic, Billie Eilish and Tori Kelly.
- Her favorite songs to perform include “Going to California”, “Billie Jean”, “Champagne Supernova”, and “Doin’ Time”.
- She is eternally grateful to her mom who tirelessly searched for more opportunities for Sasha to perform and improve her talent. Her mom would regularly stay up to help practice her songs or remember the lyrics; she’d also help with Sasha’s YouTube covers. She said, ‘… She is a very special woman, she works so hard. We call her the momager’.
- On the other hand, her father and brother are her biggest supporters. They encourage her and lift her up, but keep her grounded and from giving up on her dreams. Her brother is her best company since he accompanies her to her gigs, helps set up equipment and break it down.
- Sasha believes she couldn’t have achieved any of her accomplishments without her family’s constant support, be it when she learnt guitar, started gigging, or producing her original music, her family have always made her dreams possible, and she remains grateful for the blessing.
- Amongst her favorite things to do are watch movies, and spend time with friends and family.
- When asked on her favorite spots in Atlanta, she mentioned Halcyon in Alpharetta— a one stop shop, Tiny Bubbles Tea Bar in Woodstock— for the most unique teas, Skyview— for its Ferris-wheel, and Krog Tunnel— for the art and murals, and a good spot for pictures!
- Although being a great singer, Sasha revealed that she’s not a good dancer. She remains glad “The Voice” isn’t a dance competition as she’d not be as great.
Sasha is active on all social media sites. Her Instagram account has a following of over 7,000, while her TikTok has over 37,000 likes. She can be found on her YouTube channel and Twitter account as well, and is also active on her website, regularly posting updates on her music and other ventures.
What is in her future?
As an independent recording artist, Sasha is working on releasing more music. She wishes to form a band to start doing shows, and performing her original songs. On her wish list is selling out a local venue, the Masquerade, as it’s a stage she’s seen big-name artists perform on, and would be honored to be up there too. Until then, she will continue to sing in church, gig at venues in Atlanta, and pursue her passion. Its safe to say that this unique rising artist is one to look out for, and we wish her all the best in her future endeavors!
