A Santa Clarita native was a final performer on the FOX game show “I Can See Your Voice.”
Ivana “Vi” Cespedes, a singer and Santa Clarita native, appeared on episode seven of the hit game show, performing in front of a live studio audience just before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Cespedes was just surfing the internet last year when she saw a post looking for singers on FOX’s social media page.
“It was very mysterious so that was fun and crazy, I got a call back for it, I did a lot of videos for the selection process, and they saw my Earth, Wind, & Fire video, so I’m sure that helped,” said Cespedes.
In January of 2020, Cespedes released a music video covering “If I Ever Lose This Heaven” with several members of the iconic band, Earth, Wind & Fire.
The music video included an all-star ensemble of bassist Verdine White, drummer John Paris, guitarists Serg Dimitrijevic and Jack Majdecki, and electronic producer Mika Mutti joined saxophonic Scott Mayo and Cespedes at the studio to record the music video for their cover of “If I Ever Lose This Heaven.”
Cespedes performed as the “Tennis Player” on episode seven of “I Can See Your Voice,” with a celebrity panel including Joel McHale, Deon Cole, Jeff Dye and Cheryl Hines.
“Truly it was one of the more fun TV experiences I’ve had, and I’ve had a couple. The crew was awesome, the producers were wonderful, everyone was really funny and they were really polite,” said Cespedes. “They treated me really well…. The whole process was super fun.”
Cespedes was excited by comedians filling the celebrity panel, she said.
“I didn’t know who the judges were going to be until they brought them on stage, I’m a huge fan of Community, I also love Black-ish,” said Cespedes. “I don’t know that many celebrities but I do know those people so I was super stoked to have all of them in the same room together
At the end of the episode, Cespedes performed a duet with celebrity host Adrienne Houghton, known for her work with musical groups The Cheetah Girls and 3LW.
“She was standing next to me, and I couldn’t really look at her, because I knew I as soon as I looked at her I was going to smile, and they told us to stay serious,” said Cespedes, “I really wanted to dance when the music came on… everyone was so happy and we just had a great time.”
The episode, which aired Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2020, was the first episode of the series filmed, and the only episode filmed the day before the COVID-19 shut down in March. Thus it looks very different compared to other episodes, with judges seated close together, and involving a live studio audience.
“I really was struck that terms of me making it all the way to the end, (the contestant) put their hopes on me from the beginning, Cheryl gave them all confidence that I was a good singer, but the contestant put all her hopes on me,” said Cespedes.
Cespedes has several upcoming projects that fans can look forward to, including a starring role as one of the female jazz leads in a brand new SAG TV show titled “Knights of Swing.”
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