It's been evident in the winners chosen by CTV's The Launch over the last several weeks that pretty much any genre or style of singer is fair game when trying to pick the next artist to elevate, and its fourth week was no exception.
Featuring a panel of judges that includes executive producer and Big Machine Label Group founder Scott Borchetta, Miley Cyrus and Celine Dion producer Stephan Moccio, and Grammy Award-winning artist Fergie, week four seemed to be all about artists whose sound were at once both unique as well as throwbacks to previous decades. In the end there could be only one, and that one was London, ON-born singer POESY.
After taking an interest in singing when she was 9-years-old, Sarah Botelho has been making her way through the indie world as POESY, an antiquated English word for "poetry." Her biggest inspiration is Freddie Mercury of Queen, whose music she discovered by seeing the musical We Will Rock You, but she also cites Katy Perry, Florence Welch, Kurt Cobain, and Stevie Nicks as her other influences, and it shows in her music.
The breathy-voiced singer blew the judges away with her intense rendition of Radiohead's iconic song "Creep," understandably so given how hard it is for someone to make that song their own. It put her through to the recording round alongside Ezra Jordan, a singing prodigy whose parents have worked with the likes of Olivia Newton-John and Rod Stewart, and the competition between the two was tight.
The judges felt that both contestants lacked a level of confidence when it came to performing in front of an audience, but ultimately made up for it with their voices. Ezra's performance was a soulful, stripped-down rendition of the show's original song "Soldier of Love," but ultimately it was POESY who won the day with her version that evoked classic 70s rock, especially in her attitude.
"POESY can perform better than most of the artists who are in the Top 10 today" quipped Fergie, and when you listen to her rendition of "Soldier of Love," it's hard to disagree.
POESY's first single, "Soldier of Love," is available now for purchase everywhere. You can also follow her on her official website, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube.
For more information on The Launch, feel free to check out their official website!