Sydneysider Carly Yelayotis has blown away the judges of The Voice this week with her rendition of power ballad Stay. Well known to the Greek community of Australia after singing at Kinisi in Melbourne and Sydney Greek club Anesi, the 25-year-old artist recently returned from Greece where she explored career options there.
On the night, three judges turned their chair but it was suave Ricky Martin who got her vote over pop princess Kylie Minogue and resident bad boy Joel Madden. The eldest of three siblings, with a self-proclaimed ‘rock chick’ mother, Carly has always felt deeply connected to music and recently explored the music industry in Greece to reconnect with her ancestry.
At age 25 and with three years of singing under her belt, Carly’s eclectic vocal style draws inspiration from notable Greek artists as much as it does from western popular artists including Beyoncé, Rihanna, Michael Jackson and Stevie Wonder.
As of now, two other Greek Australians have made it through and are on Team Joel. Lead singer of heavy metal band Rattlesnake, Frank Lakoudis is Sydney’s Greek revival of the ’70s rock god era and on stage, he’s every bit the part. Off stage, he is a talented 3D animator completing a degree in web and app design.
While his musical father first encouraged him to play the guitar, it was the allure of a rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle that motivated him to pursue a career in music. Pointing to the likes of rock icon Bon Jovi for inspiration, Frank feels that rock is misunderstood in today’s music scene and is determined to make a big impact on The Voice.
Also on Team Joel is Luke Koteras. The Sydney pop artist is currently rocking in a band with previous The Voice artists Chris Sebastian and Michael Duchesne.
A professional guitarist first, Luke found his voice at age 20 and places his vocal style among the likes of John Mayer, Ed Sheeran and Michael Bublé.
Since then, he’s performed sell-out solo gigs and has written over 100 original songs amounting to several album releases. His self-proclaimed biggest challenge is yet to come – auditioning on The Voice 2014.
For more information visit www.thevoice.com.au