Fairfield Native Vying To Be The Voice Of Germany

FAIRFIELD, CT — A Fairfield native who spent several years singing with the Fairfield County Children’s Choir is now vying to be the Voice of Germany. Lia Joham, who grew up in Fairfield and attended Fairfield Warde High School (Class of 2015), is a contestant on The Voice of Germany. She made her debut last week with a rendition of Simon and Garfunkel’s “Bridge Over Trouble Water” for her Blind Audition and drew praise from the judges.

Joham, who was also a record-breaking track athlete at Fairfield Warde, is currently studying sound engineering in Austria at the Technical University of Graz. She is a member of an a cappella choir and earns a living as singer at local clubs and private events.

Her mother, Jana, said that her performance on The Voice of Germany wasn’t her television debut… that honor came while she was in fourth grade at Stratfield Elementary when she sang and played guitar with her class on News 12 Connecticut, singing “Here Comes The Sun” for the weather report.

“Lia has always been involved in music,” Jana said. “She starting singing and playing guitar at 8, and sang for seven years with the Fairfield County Children’s Choir.”

Lia was also a standout athlete at Warde, breaking seven school records in track (five of which still exist) and at 15 years old won sixth place at the 2012 New Balance Nationals in the 400-meter race.

Lia grew up in the Stratfield area of Fairfield, just a few doors down from where Grammy Award winning singer John Mayer grew up. Lia’s mom and two of her siblings still live in Fairfield.

After singing “Bridge Over Trouble Water” for her Blind Audition, the judges hit the buzzer and wanted to hear more, asking her to sing an impromptu second song. She sang “Chandelier” by Sia which was “even more impressive than the first song,” her coach Mark Forster said.

The four coaches, who are each famous in Germany in pop, rap, hip hop, rock, soul and classical music, were complimentary during their critique and said the following (via Jana):

Michael Patrick Kelly: You have a very beautiful voice. You presented us with a very interesting interpretation of such an incredible song. And at 20 years old to give us so much depth. It was really nice. Thank you for this moment.

Mark Forster: I expected something completely different. It was so real and authentic for me. I thought it was somehow an earthy, 40-year-old woman from San Francisco. You have a Ferrari voice and somehow you took me on a sightseeing drive. You were not just stepping on the gas, but you took me on a panoramic drive where I could not only enjoy the scenery, but also sit in a really cool Ferrari. I really enjoyed it.

Smudo: The first thing I thought was gutsy. By the first sound, was everything clear, that you had everything. I couldn’t really tell, not of your age, but your voice. On this show, everything else is available. We have super vocal coaches and we have super bands, lots of things we have, but what we don’t have is someone with a God-given really cool voice.

Michael Patrick Kelly: I think she has the qualities of a finalist.

Lia’s next challenge will be on “The Battles” where she will sing a duet with a fellow team member and the coaches will choose only one to head to the next round.

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