MONDAY night Elly Poletti graced our screens on The Voice with her rendition of Lady Gaga’s Million Reasons to a standing ovation, and the Gippsland local today had a million reasons to smile.
“A lot of people have this idea that The Voice is pre-planned, and everyone’s got to go on there with their sob stories,” Elly explained.
“But this is another platform for us artists. It’s another way for us to express ourselves and be able to show off our talent. When are you going to get a million people to come to your gig? There’s no venue that holds that many people. It’s a massive achievement to have that many people tuning into our voices.
“We just go in there with our story and what we want to share. It’s a positive musical, creative outlet.”
Hailing from Phillip Island, the Leongatha born singer-songwriter is no stranger to the stage.
“I grew up in a musical household – music has always been a massive part of my life; even the judges on the show harp on about how music is good for the soul. I think there are many great benefits to music, and I’ve been blessed and grateful to grow up in a household where music was so highly encouraged, not just by my parents, but even my brothers and my aunties… My story that you see on the show is about my Nonna – she was a massive inspiration in my life and really encouraged my music and I have been blessed to have been surrounded by that support.”
A home filled with the melismatic prowess of Aretha Franklin, the baritone country twang of Bob Dylan, the bluegrass to dub reggae of Paul Kelly and the musical likings of blues, there is no doubting the impact had on Elly.
“I love performing, I love being on stage and it got to this point where I realised I needed to put myself out on a bigger platform.”
A passion for performing, the award-winning artist is often gracing Melbourne’s theatre stages and music venues on weekends, and when she’s not performing, she is teaching voice and piano at Newhaven College and Bass Coast College, sharing her talents with the next generation of musicians.
“Working with students, they’re so clever and creative, they see the world differently to adults – we’ve got all the stresses of life. I like how they approach songs and their songwriting – sometimes (I feel) they teach me more than I’m teaching them; seeing them grow and improve emotionally…”
“My advice for younger people is to start songwriting – start practicing those skills – and get your head around social media. Learn how to market yourself.
“You’ve got to work towards it – if I’ve got an hour in my day I don’t just sit around on my phone, that’s an hour I can be working on a website or a song or practicing… it’s a constant. To be successful you have to work towards those goals, you can’t stop and procrastinate.
“I encourage people to audition for the show and give it a crack if they’ve always thought about it – life is pretty short.”
Follow Elly at EllyPolettiMusic on Facebook and Instagram.
The Voice is airing now on Channel 7 and 7Plus.
