Amy Vachal

During season nine of the singing competition The Voice, Amy Lynn Vachal reached the semifinals on the strength of her acoustic interpretations of contemporary hits. The half-Filipina singer/songwriter from Somerset, New Jersey, performed "Dream a Little Dream of Me" at her audition and was selected for Pharrell Williams' team, though Adam Levine later claimed her during the Knockout round. Music had not formed part of her original ambitions. Raised in a mixed-race household, she absorbed bluegrass and classic gospel-soul through her father's tastes. She earned a double major in economics and art at Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, yet a severe head injury incurred during lacrosse led her to adopt music as a path toward recovery and emotional balance. Her debut EP, Appleseed, appeared in 2011, followed three years later by Crinkle Boom. While competing on The Voice she offered distinctive versions of material by Drake, Taylor Swift, Bob Dylan, and *NSync until her elimination in the semifinals. At the close of 2015 she began recording her first proper full-length.