This Latina is Killing It on ‘The Voice’ and Her Immigrant Parents are There Rooting For Her

Omar Villegas - 10/27/15 - #mitúWORLD

This is Ivonne Acero.

And here's another one. #seniorpictures #silviastanleyphotography

A photo posted by Ivonne Acero (@ivonne_acero) on

She’s a high school student from a small town in Arizona called Aguila (population: 798).

They're not kidding when they say "you are what you eat" #pizzaislife

A photo posted by Ivonne Acero (@ivonne_acero) on

When she’s not dressed as a pepperoni pizza, she’s the vice president of her high school’s student government and a varsity basketball player.

Acero is also the child of Mexican immigrants. She works with her parents at a local cantaloupe farm.

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Credit: NBC

And despite seeing cantaloupes all the time, she loves ’em.

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Credit: NBC

The 17-year-old says she loves cutting them in half and putting a scoop of ice cream in the middle.

Last year, Acero auditioned on season 8 of The Voice.

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Credit: NBC

Acero saved money from her cantaloupe farming gig to buy a plane ticket to New York and audition for The Voice. She got her chance to perform in front of the judges during the premiere of season 8. “If I could turn a chair, it would be life-changing,” said Acero on The Voice.

Acero’s parents watched closely as their daughter sung “Try” by Colbie Caillat.

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Credit: NBC

But none of the judges turned for Acero.

waiting-for-chairs

After Acero finished her performance, Blake Shelton said he was mad at himself for not turning around. Christina Aguilera said Acero just needed a bit more experience.  Adam Levine, who said her performance contained “so much good,” asked her to come back the following year.

READ: Dominicana-Boricua Melanie Martinez Shows You the Dark Side of Pop

Pharrell noted that Acero’s shy demeanor affected her performance.

 pharrell-mic

Credit: NBC

“Let that microphone go… let it go,” said Pharrell, who added:

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Credit: NBC

Acero took their advice and auditioned again this season.

Credit: The Voice / YouTube

And within 10 seconds, two judges turned for her.

button-push

Acero’s family went crazy.

family-crazy

So did host Carson Daly.

Especially her father, who couldn’t hold back his tears.

acero-dad

Of course, Acero chose Team Pharrell.

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Credit: NBC / The Voice

In the following “battle round,” Acero lost to Siahna Im. But she was given a second chance.

Credit: The Voice / YouTube

Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton both tried to “steal” Acero, who eventually chose to join Team Blake.

Being saved by another coach did wonders for her confidence. The following week, Acero was wowing guest coach Rihanna during rehearsals:

After a bit of coaching from Shelton and Rihanna, Acero won her “knockout round” with a gripping performance of Katy Perry’s “Part of Me.”

Acero shook off the shyness that plagued her previous performances and spread her wings, just like Pharrell asked her in the previous season.

After her breakout performance, Acero politely asked fans not to compare her to a certain Latina TV character:

Acero will continue her quest to win this season of The Voice, and you can bet her parents will be along for the ride:

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