‘The Voice’ finalist Christina Grimmie on coach Adam Levine, her friend Selena Gomez and singing with Ed Sheeran

MANILA, Philippines - What’s it like to be on Team Adam? Christina Grimmie says, “He’s honestly one my favorite people in the world. If you love Adam Levine, you love him for the right reasons. He’s an amazing person. He made sure that I was 100-percent comfortable with what we were to going to do onstage. He was just completely nurturing. He’s Adam Levine! He’s been there, and he would know how to mentor me. He’s very attractive, yeah. But, I was more like, ‘What can I learn from this guy?’”

Christina Grimmie is an American singer/songwriter whose career began when she covered songs on YouTube. She gained YouTube stardom for her cover of Miley Cyrus’ Party in the USA. In 2011, Grimmie released her successful first EP Find Me, followed by her debut album With Love, which reached #3 on iTunes. Since then, she toured Canada and the US with Selena Gomez and opened for Gomez’s Stars Dance tour. (“[Selena] has been a mentor to me throughout that touring process. She called to say how happy she is for me directly after the blind auditions. She’s a sweetheart,” says Christina.)

Even before joining The Voice, she had gained the support of the music industry, allowing her to perform with singer Taio Cruz at the 2011 AMA pre-show and to host the behind-the-scenes view of the 2012 American Idol tour for 19 Entertainment’s YouTube channel. She was also the AMA New Media Honoree for best female in 2011.

In 2014, she joined the US edition of The Voice, where she wowed judges Adam Levine, Blake Shelton, Usher, and Shakira, who all turned for her. She sang Cyrus’ hit Wrecking Ball, a prophecy of her rise to fame.

Today, Grimmie has 2,892,644 Facebook fans, 2,728,424 YouTube subscribers, 618,000 Twitter followers, and 347,456 Instagram followers — and her fanbase is growing.

“I know I have a lot of Filipino friends on my YouTube page, and it’s just incredible that I’m finally here,” the singer says.

At a recent press conference held at the Intercontinental Manila, The STAR got to know Christina a bit more:

PHILIPPINE STAR: You’ve mentioned before that you love Stacie Orrico. When did you start listening to her and how much has she influenced your music?

CHRISTINA GRIMMIE: I found out about her when I was nine or 10 years old — I’m 20 now. Since then, at such a young age, I’ve tried to model my voice in that R&B way that she does. I’m heavily influenced by her voice. In fact, the second cover that I’ve done on YouTube was a Stacie Orrico song called Dear Friend. And I got to meet her! Our managers were friends and I got to tell her how much I look up to her. Best moment of my life! Other than The Voice of course.

Speaking of The Voice, what are some of your most unforgettable moments with your coach, Adam?

I was in the studio, Adam and we were recording the song Somebody That I Used to Know by Gotye, and he was just so funny! They aired some of what was going on in the studio, but there’s so much more that wasn’t aired that I really wish people saw. He’s inspiring. He records differently than I do — he wants a certain word to sound a certain way, so we’d do that line until we get it right. He’s just a great person to be around. I don’t even know what it is that I love the most, it’s just so many things.

Any memorable celebrity mentors?

He wasn’t a mentor, but I got to sing with Ed Sheeran, which was amazing. That whole experience showed so much about him as an artist. The set was so intimate — it was just me and him with microphones and he had a guitar. People have said that that was one of their favorite performances just because it was so raw and stripped down. It was memorable for sure.

Is there a difference, for you, when you cover songs and write your own?

When I would cover music on YouTube or The Voice, I would always make that artist’s song as if it were my song. I always think, “How would I have written this song?” So they’re closely related, to be honest. 

Tell me about your tattoos.

One (on her left forearm) says “2P” which means 2-player, in 8-bit font. My brother, who is my best friend, has one that says “1P.” We grew up playing video games together and that’s always been a thing of ours. It’s kind of our sibling tattoo. And this one (on her right forearm) says “All is vanity” in Elvish. I’m big on Lord of the Rings. It’s also an ongoing theme in a book of the Bible called Ecclesiastes. It’s about just making sure that your priorities are straight. Anything can be a distraction, and things can just turn you into an egomaniac. I wasn’t raised that way and I’m not in that mindset. I just want to make sure that no matter what happens, I stay very grounded in my faith and as a person. ”

Grimmie is currently promoting her newest single release Must Be Love. Ayala Malls, in its continuing commitment to provide a premiere lifestyle experience to its shoppers, has made it possible for Christina’s fans in Manila to see her perform yesterday at Alabang Town Center and Glorietta. Today, she will be performing at TriNoma at 7 p.m.