Vicci Martinez (born September 21, 1984) is an American

singer/songwriter A singer-songwriter is a musician who writes, composes, and performs their own musical material, including lyrics and melodies. In the United States, the category is built on the folk-acoustic tradition, although this role has transmuted thr ...

and actress from

Tacoma, Washington Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, Washington, Olympia, and northwest of Mount ...

. She came in joint third on

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an Television in the United States, American English-language Commercial broadcasting, commercial television network, broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Enterta ...

's singing competition series ''

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 ...

'' in 2011. She released her 2012 album with

Republic Records Republic Records is a New York City–based American record label owned by Universal Music Group (UMG). It was founded by Avery Lipman and Monte Lipman as an independent label in 1995, and was acquired by UMG in 2000. Republic was initially an ...

(

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

), but self-released her 2015 album.

Biography and career

Martinez, the daughter of a Mexican father employed as a plumber, and a mother employed as an

ESL English as a second or foreign language is the use of English by speakers with different native languages. Language education for people learning English may be known as English as a second language (ESL), English as a foreign language (EFL ...

teacher, graduated from

Stadium High School Stadium High School is a public high school in Tacoma, Washington, and a historic landmark. It is part of Tacoma Public Schools, or Tacoma School District No. 10 and is located in the Stadium District, near downtown Tacoma. The original buildin ...

. She first took the stage at the age of 16. Firmly grounded in the tradition of acoustic-rock, Vicci Martinez writes and performs music that is personal and often autobiographical. She has received critical acclaim for her live performances. After the 2005 release of her album, ''On My Way'', Martinez went on tour and released a full-length concert DVD and documentary in 2006 titled ''Vicci Martinez Live''. The DVD, produced by Joel Veatch and Flying Spot, received positive press attention. Vicci also released a live CD that had been recorded at Jazzbones, a musical venue in Tacoma, Washington. Martinez won the regional tryouts for the first season of ''

American Idol ''American Idol'' is an American singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It aired on Fox from June 11, 2002, to Ap ...

'', but declined her invitation to the second round on the grounds that, in her opinion, the contract was too restrictive. She later appeared on

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

's 2003 season of ''

Star Search ''Star Search'' was an American television show that was produced by T.P.E./ Rysher Entertainment from 1983 to 1995, hosted by Ed McMahon, and created by Al Masini. A relaunch was produced by 2929 Productions from 2003 to 2004. On both versio ...

''. In 2011, Martinez competed on the U.S. talent show ''

''. ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' magazine praised her diverse performance abilities saying "she gives every song a mature delivery and she appears comfortable in whatever skin she has chosen to adopt on a given night. With a drum corps alongside her and a backstory about her late father to warm the heart, she tore through

Florence and the Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and ...

's ''

Dog Days Are Over "Dog Days Are Over" is a song by English indie rock band Florence and the Machine from their debut album ''Lungs'' (2009). It was originally scheduled for release on 24 November 2008 through Moshi Moshi Records in the UK as the album's second s ...

'' with alacrity; the closing performance Tuesday was also the night's best performance." Martinez came in first place on judge

CeeLo Green Thomas DeCarlo Callaway - Burton (born May 30, 1975), known professionally as CeeLo Green (or Cee Lo Green), is an American singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer and actor. He is known for his work in hip hop and R&B, including the Gnarls ...

's team and represented him in the final round. She finished third overall.

''Performances on The Voice''

According to her ''Voice'' coach,

, after her appearance on the show in 2011, Martinez signed a record deal. Her EP, ''Come Along'', was released on May 1, 2012, followed by her Universal Republic album "Vicci" on June 19 of the same year. Her 2012 chart hit, " Come Along", a cover of a 2001 single from Swedish recording act Titiyo, featured Cee Lo Green. Though the song was a top 20 hit throughout Central Europe, it was not released in the U.S. or U.K. On May 1, 2015, Martinez self-released her album, ''I Am Vicci Martinez''. In 2018, after being discovered by the casting director via a google search, Martinez played inmate Daddy on season 6 of the Netflix series ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Wo ...

.'' Martinez also appeared in the seventh and final season.

Personal life

Martinez identifies as

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

. In July 2018, it was confirmed that she is in a relationship with her ''Orange Is the New Black'' co-star

Emily Tarver Emily Tarver is an actress, comedian and musician from Houston, Texas. Tarver has performed as a cast member of VH1's series "Best Week Ever" and performs stand-up and improvisational comedy in a variety of venues, including the Upright Citiz ...

Discography

Albums

* 2000: ''VMB'' * 2003: ''Sleep to Dream'' * 2005: ''On My Way'' * 2006: ''Vicci Martinez Live'' * 2007: ''I Could Be a Boxer'' * 2009: ''From the Outside In'' * 2010: ''I Love You in the Morning'' * 2011: ''Live From Jazzbones'' * 2012: ''Vicci'' (Universal Republic) * 2015: ''I Am Vicci''

EPs

* 2012: ''Come Along'' (Universal Republic) * 2015: ''I Am''

Singles

Filmography

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez, Vicci 1984 births Living people 20th-century American women singers 21st-century American women singers American actresses of Mexican descent American child singers American women pop singers American women rock singers American women singer-songwriters American rock musicians American rock songwriters American lesbian actresses American lesbian musicians LGBT Hispanic and Latino American people LGBT people from Washington (state) American LGBT singers LGBT songwriters Musicians from Tacoma, Washington Singers from Tacoma, Washington Singer-songwriters from Washington (state) The Voice (franchise) contestants 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers 20th-century LGBT people 21st-century LGBT people