Bryana Alicia Salaz (born August 25, 1997) is an American actress and singer. In 2014, she appeared on the seventh season of ''

The Voice The Voice may refer to: Fictional entities * The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics * The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe * The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...

'' as part of

Gwen Stefani Gwen Renée Stefani (; born October 3, 1969) is an American singer, songwriter, fashion designer and actress. She is a co-founder, lead vocalist, and the primary songwriter of the band No Doubt, whose singles include "Just a Girl", "Spiderwebs ...

's team. In 2019, she began portraying the role of Kaylie in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

series ''

Team Kaylie ''Team Kaylie'' is an American sitcom streaming television series created by Tracy Bitterolf and developed by Pamela Eells O'Connell, directed by Bob Koherr and starring Bryana Salaz and Alison Fernandez. Netflix ordered 20 episodes of the seri ...

''.

Early life and personal life

Born the daughter of Edward Salaz and raised in a military family, Salaz has moved every two to three years since she was born. This includes attending four high schools between her freshman and senior years. The many moves taught Salaz to easily adapt to her environment. Salaz is a lesbian and of Latina descent.

Career

Early days

Salaz's initial aspiration was not in music. For many years, her passion was playing soccer. She was 12 years old when her mom entered her in a military singing competition. Salaz reluctantly agreed to participate. With a lot of encouragement, she stepped onto the stage and discovered that not only did she love singing, she also loved being on stage. As a result of the competition, she was asked to perform at several venues in Hawaii such as Don Ho's Island Grill, Martin Luther King Jr. event at Kapiolani Park and she performed the American National Anthem for the D.A.R.E. program with an audience of about 10,000. She participated in multiple singing competitions and was awarded first place at the Iolani Talent Competition in 2010. She branched out into performing in musicals and auditioned for ''High School Musical 2'' at the Ft. Shafter Richardson Theatre. Although she was allowed to audition, they told her she was too young for any of the roles. The director, impressed with the audition, created a role for her as the "Jr. Sharpettes." She went on to perform in several more musicals. Upon moving to

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, Salaz continued performing in the theater and singing competitions. She auditioned for ''America's Got Talent'' in 2011 and advanced to the Las Vegas Rounds.

2014: ''The Voice''

In September 2014, it was announced that Salaz would compete in

Season 7 A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and po ...

of ''

'' on the advice of

. On the first episode of

, Salaz covered

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Her four-octave vocal range has received critical acclaim, and her personal life has been the subject of widespread media attention. She has received ...

's " Problem." Three coaches (

Adam Levine Adam Noah Levine (; born March 18, 1979) is an American singer and songwriter. He serves as the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of the pop rock band Maroon 5. Levine began his musical career in 1994 with the band Kara's Flowers, of which ...

and

Blake Shelton Blake Tollison Shelton (born June 18, 1976) is an American country music singer and television personality. In 2001, he made his debut with the single " Austin". The lead-off single from his self-titled debut album, "Austin" spent five weeks at ...

) turned around, though

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973) is an American record producer, rapper, singer, and songwriter. Alongside close colleague Chad Hugo, he formed the hip hop and R&B production duo the Neptunes in the early 1990s, with whom he ...

said that the only reason for not turning his chair was because he felt that she would connect more with Gwen than with himself. Salaz ended up choosing Gwen as her coach. At the Battle rounds, Salaz faced Gianna Salvato where they sang "

Boom Clap "Boom Clap" is a song by English singer and songwriter Charli XCX, released as the first single from the soundtrack album of ''The Fault in Our Stars'' (2014) and is also featured on XCX's second studio album, ''Sucker''. There are two existing ...

." She was chosen over Salvato, in the process advancing to the Knockout rounds. During the Knockouts, Salaz sang "

Heart Attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

" in which she defeated her opponent Sugar Joans and advanced to The Live Playoffs. During the Playoffs, Salaz performed a rendition of 5 Seconds of Summer's "

Amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

." Though her performance was highly praised by the four coaches, especially her coach Gwen, Salaz saw herself being eliminated the following day on the Playoffs Results night, as her teammate, Ryan Sill, was chosen over her to advance to the Top 12. Her elimination, along with Taylor Phelan, was one of the most controversial of the night, as many believed that both were certain names for the Top 12. : – Studio version of performance reached the top 10 on iTunes

2015: Sweet Suspense

On June 11, 2015, it was announced that Salaz became a member of the girl-band Sweet Suspense, replacing Celine Polenghi as the third member of ''

The X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' alum group. They were set to release a single; "Money" in 2015; however, in September, it was officially announced that she had left the group to pursue a career in TV, leaving the future of the group unclear.

2016: ''Best Friends Whenever'', SNRG

In 2016, Salaz confirmed that she would be joining the second season of the Disney Channel show ''

Best Friends Whenever ''Best Friends Whenever'' is an American comedy television series created by Jed Elinoff and Scott Thomas that premiered on Disney Channel on June 26, 2015. Its final episode aired on December 11, 2016, after two seasons. The series stars Land ...

'' portraying Princess Daisy. She also confirmed that she would be reuniting with Celine and former Sweet Suspense member Summer Reign, to form a new girl band called 'SNRG' and that they were talking to major record labels and film studios about their music. In May 2016, it was confirmed that she left SNRG.

Artistry

Influences

In addition to

and

, Salaz's pop style is influenced by artists such as

Christina Aguilera Christina María Aguilera (; ; born December 18, 1980) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and television personality. Known for her four-octave vocal range and ability to sustain high notes, she has been referred to as the " Voice of ...

Beyoncé Beyoncé Giselle Knowles-Carter ( ; born September 4, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Beyoncé's boundary-pushing artistry and vocals have made her the most influential female musician of the 21st century, according to ...

and

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer and actress. Nicknamed "The Voice", she is one of the bestselling music artists of all time, with sales of over 200 million records worldwide. Houston in ...

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Salaz, Bryana 1997 births Living people Musicians from Orlando, Florida American women pop singers American television actresses American lesbian actresses American lesbian musicians American LGBT singers LGBT people from Florida LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people Hispanic and Latino American actresses Hispanic and Latino American singers 21st-century American actresses The Voice (franchise) contestants 21st-century American women singers American voice actresses 21st-century American singers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people Hispanic and Latino American women singers