Voice star Vicci Martinez keeps playing by her own tune

Most aspiring musicians wouldn’t think twice if they got
an offer to appear on American Idol, but Vicci Martinez
has always danced to the beat of her own drummer. When
the then teenage Tacoma singer-songwriter was given a
shot to perform on the hit TV show, she gave it some
thought then said, “No thanks.”

“The contract was very binding and I wanted to be a
writer. I wanted to learn to record and produce and I had
all these ideas,” Martinez told me during a recent visit
to 97.3 KIRO FM.

>>>Listen to Vicci Martinez interview

She also credits her dad with helping her to look long-
term, even at such a young age.

“He was like ‘You’re a good singer for 16-years-old, but
what about when you’re 26? Come on, grow up and learn how
to do this and really learn this.’ I didn’t know what I
had to stand for at that time and I feel like
I do now and that’s kind of what happened with The Voice.
I know who I am now,” Martinez says.

Vicci Martinez released her new, self-titled album Tuesday. She performed live at KIRO Radio Friday, June 15. (MyNorthwest.com)

Millions of TV viewers now also know who she is, thanks to
her star turn last year on the hit NBC show The Voice.
Martinez was a finalist, finishing third in the singing
competition, earning national acclaim and inking a big
contract with Universal.

But in her typical fashion, she resisted the label’s push
to put out an album right away along with the other
finalists. Instead, she took her time to craft the album
she wanted. “Vicci” was just released Wednesday, almost a
year
after her big breakthrough.

“I wanted to do it right and enlighten people,” she says.

It’s a powerhouse that showcases her deeply personal
lyrics and huge voice that propelled her to the top of the
Voice and features a previously recorded track with her
mentor Cee Lo Green, the pop star who she says helped
inspire
her to stay true to her self.

“He was the one that everyone was like, ‘What’s your
story’ and he just decided to ‘say this is me.’ And I felt
really connected to him with that because I grew up the
same way. I had friends that were like ‘You’re like a
tomboy. You’re a girl but you kind of have the boy thing
going on too, what are you?’ I’m a Vicci, that’s what I
am.”

And thanks to the release of her new album and the non-
stop touring ahead, plenty of others will likely get to
know who she is as well.

“My biggest thing is I just want people to be inspired to
do what they love, love themselves first, live their
truth, and inspire other people to do the same.”