Sasha Hurtado

Describe yourself and your journey.

I’m from Dallas, Georgia, and I’m MexicanAmerican. I just turned 19, and I’ve always loved music. I grew up singing in church, chorus and local talent shows. I then joined an audition-only performing arts group. I started taking guitar lessons and gigging at 14. I also started writing my own music. It began as a fun hobby, then became something much more.

How has performing in Woodstock influenced your evolution as a musician?

I always tell people MadLife is one of my absolute favorite places to play. I remember playing there for the first time and being shocked by how interested and excited people were to hear me sing. In many gigs, you’re just background music; people don’t pay much attention or care. However, at MadLife, (the community) appreciates live music, which was awesome to experience. The other local musicians that play there are some of the sweetest people I’ve met and are so supportive of one another, which also is something I hadn’t seen before.

Describe your recent experience on NBC’s “The Voice.”

Being on “The Voice” Season 22 was a life-changing experience for me. I grew so much in my relationship with God. I developed my confidence. I still can’t even believe I get to say I made the Top 16. It was a roller coaster of emotions. It’s scary to put yourself out there for the whole world to judge and critique you. However, with all the hate comes a new wave of love and support. I gained thousands of new fans and people who have followed me to support me outside of the show.

The show taught me that even if you think it’s your worst performance, someone is connected to it. That helped to settle my perfectionist mindset and taught me to enjoy the moments I get onstage. The show is a remarkable accomplishment and a memory I will cherish forever, but it doesn’t define my career. It’s the work you do after that counts. Every artist continues to grow and improve with time, and I can’t wait for the following chapters of my career!

What songs represent your most influential music?

There isn’t a song of mine that is my most influential music. They are all like little milestones or events that I went through in different periods of my life.

We all turn to music because it’s comforting to have something perfectly expressing our feelings. Writing is like an outlet for me. I turn to it when I have things that I want to say. It’s therapeutic to put everything you’re feeling at that moment into a song.

I’ve received messages from people telling me they relate to a song I wrote and that it helped them. This is validating because you hope people connect with your music or feel something when listening to it, as I did with other artists’ music growing up. It’s a full circle.

What is the most valuable lesson you have learned?

The most valuable lesson I have learned is to keep going and stay focused on the why. There are thousands of people trying to do the same thing. It’s easy to get caught up in the number of followers, streams, likes, etc. The likelihood of being “successful” is slim, but it’s why you do it that keeps you going. Until the Lord closes doors and tells me otherwise, I will continue to pursue music wholeheartedly, because it’s what I love to do.

What advice do you have for young artists?

My advice to other aspiring artists would be to go for it, enjoy it and don’t let little hurdles in your career steer you off course! Coming from personal experience, you will have bad performances, hit some wrong notes, write some bad songs, look back and think, “What the heck was I thinking?” None of those things define your career or you as an artist. You are going to continue to learn and grow. That’s the art of creating. Enjoy what you do, and do it because you love it!