A few of my songs have some lyrics in Spanish, which is my second language and part of my Mexican American heritage. We sang a duet, ‘Shadow on the Wall.’ I asked her if I could sing an original, and she let me play her guitar. At 16, I auditioned for ‘American Idol.’ Lionel Richie said yes, Katy Perry said no, and Luke Bryan said no. A couple months after my graduation from the UW, ‘The Voice’ reached out and asked me to audition. It didn’t feel like a competition until we were on stage.