Aston Tileyard Education Bursary winner Chiara Oldano wows on The Voice France

Italian born, French raised and London based singer-songwriter Chiara Oldano smashed her audition on The Voice France and is due to appear in the battles on Saturday 10th April.  Chiara Oldano is an artist, student with a powerhouse of a voice. She was one of the students we chose to award the Tileyard Education bursary too. Each awardee was presented with their very own microphone and halo. 

Chiara caught up with Tileyard to discuss her music career and her recent appearance on The Voice Fance. 

"Most excitingly, we’ve heard about your recent appearance on The Voice (France)! What made you apply for the show?

When the opportunity for The Voice arose, I was really very surprised. In fact, to tell the truth, I didn’t believe it at first, I thought it was some kind of joke! I don’t think I fully realised it was serious until the moment I found myself on set in front of the four chairs, and when a coach turned around my heart jumped. I realised that when you see it on TV you don’t truly understand what it’s like to sing on this set, but the stage is so iconic and legendary that being able to stand there really does have an effect. 

I had thought about TV shows before but since I started songwriting, I thought it probably wasn’t the way forward for me, and above all, I did not think I would get to this stage as there were thousands of people in the running. But when an opportunity like this presents itself, it would be a big mistake not to take it." 

How did it feel to be on live TV?

Overwhelming. Honestly Unbelievable. The idea that there would be over 6 million people watching you perform definitely added to the stress. It was so surreal and really intensely thrilling. Those who know me definitely realised that I was very nervous. I have been performing live for years now but nothing compared to the emotions and feelings that I felt during the blind audition. Nonetheless, Florent Pagny hit his red button for me and I was over the moon. He was the coach I dreamed of, he is a legendary French singer, through his voice and his presence. I will be forever grateful for the experience.

Tell us a little more about what the next steps are in the contest?

The next step is the battles, where two contestants go head to head in a sing-off. But after that, I am not allowed to reveal anything since the rules of the game have slightly changed this year!

Read the full Tileyard interview with Chiara: https://tileyard.co.uk/stories/interview-with-chiara/

Stay up to date with Chiara, and support her by following her on Instagram and Twitter.