From Coronado to Hollywood Ava Lynn Thuresson's Road to The Voice

By Lauren Curtis

Ava Lynn Thuresson was born and raised here in San Diego, graduating in the class of 2022 from Cathedral Catholic High School. Ava was a cheerleader during her time at Cathedral, and also performed in the school’s spring concert. She has enjoyed visiting Coronado every Fourth of July for the parade and recently moved with her family to the island. All of this information aside, Ava is not your average 18-year-old.

Ava has been singing, playing guitar, and writing music for as long as she can remember. “I’ve been singing in school choirs my whole life!” she said of how she got her start. Music is her passion and she certainly has the talent to back it up. Her first official gig was at the golf course right here in Coronado, where she got a taste of what a life in music could look like for her. She also took part in the 2022 ‘Coronado’s Talent’ show… but now she is taking over a much larger stage. One night while Ava was in the midst of college applications, her mom sent

her a link to audition for the hit NBC show “The Voice.” She decided to fill out the application for fun, not knowing if anything would come of it. “I wasn’t expecting anything until I got a callback in the following weeks,” Ava recalled.

Ava continued through countless rounds of auditions and callbacks until she was finally notified that she had made it to the “Blind Audition” which is televised and on average reaches over six million viewers. “It’s been a long process to get on the stage at The Voice,” she said. “I found out in February of 2022 I was going to be on blinds, then started filming two days after I graduated high school.” With graduation and college applications on her mind, she also had to keep this a secret until September when she was able to make an official announcement that she would be on the show. The auditions are called blinds because the four celebrity “coaches” are facing away from the stage, meaning they can’t see who is performing, only hear them. In this portion of the show, contestants perform a song of their choice for the coaches; if a coach likes the performance and wants the singer on their team for the season they press a buzzer to turn their chair around.

Ava didn’t just get one coach to turn their chair, but two. Though Ava would describe her singing style as “bluesy with some country and soul,”

she decided to audition with a pop song. Ava hit the stage singing ‘...Baby One More Time’ by Britney Spears. “It was definitely a unique choice, especially since it isn’t really my genre. However, I tried to show the coaches that I’m comfortable as my own artist and love making songs my own,” she said.

And she did just that. Her bluesy, grungey take on the song was exactly what the coaches were looking for. Both Grammy-nominated artist Camila Cabello and Grammy award-winning artist John Legend wanted Ava on their team. Gwen Stefani also expressed regret for not turning around, telling Ava, “You’re really talented.” After a bit of a battle to win Ava over, she ultimately chose to join Team Cabello.

“Camila has been amazing, especially for me, because of her very personal experiences of being a young girl on a singing competition show… she’s given me really good advice to help overcome insecurity and develop my performance,” Ava said of her new coach and mentor.

Though she is already brushing shoulders with some of the world’s biggest stars, Ava is still just an 18-year-old girl. This competition is hard on even the most veteran of singers, and Ava feels incredibly lucky for all of the support she has, especially from her mom. “My mom… my mom is the one that’s been by my side through everything, especially my experience on The Voice.”

Unfortunately, Ava did not advance past the second round, which saw her valiantly battle it out against another singer from Team Cabello. Though she will no longer be competing, she is still thankful for all that The Voice has brought her. Ava says she feels as though she went into the show as a girl that liked to sing and came out as a singer.

As a natural-born songwriter, Ava is hoping this show will help get her to a place where she can make her own music and share her songs with the world. And looking toward the future, wherever it may lead, she is simply soaking up every moment along the way, knowing she has the support of not only her family but all of Coronado as well.

“It’s been a whirlwind and really surreal.”