Blake Shelton, Ariana Grande, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson sit facing away from the stage. Serenity Arce, a freshman at Jupiter High, strides across “The Voice’s” blind audition stage, performing the song “I See Red” by Everybody Loves an Outlaw. 

Arce’s performance aired on Sept. 22 on NBC. Her song choice comes from the social media app, TikTok. 

“I found that song and I first started practicing it,” Arce said. “When I was told [to audition for “The Voice”] I’ve already practiced [the song] a lot.”

Arce is in the Jupiter High Chorus and has several years of experience prior to the JHS choir. 

“I did three years of chorus at Independence Middle School. That was my first time singing with a whole group. I’ve been singing without a teacher ever since I was little,” Arce said.

Arce’s talents go beyond singing.

“My first time ever having a vocal coach was when I went to my first dance class and they had vocal lessons there,” Arce said. “Public speaking also helped me get more confidence,and theatre has always been a big thing with me. That’s why I joined it here to continue doing theater.” 

Grande admired Arce’s interest in theater.

“[Theater] is the safest space to grow as a vocalist,” Grande said on the show.

Arce found the coaches’ advice useful for her future in singing.

“I think what they said to me was very solid information. Blake told me if I wanted to continue and make it far on the show then I should take more time to myself to train and blow everyone away,” Arce said. “The criticism was definitely hard to digest… I’ve come to terms that if I wanted to win the show, getting vocal lessons and working really hard would eventually help me in the long run.” 

Arce auditioned for the show among a pandemic.

“I first did my open call audition virtually due to COVID-19,” Arce said.

Although the audition experience for others like Arce was changed, there was still a long process to get to the blind auditions.

“There’s so many things that go into actually being able to fly out there because they have to make sure that who they have is what they want,” Arce said. “You go through a lot of meetings and interviews and just talk to a lot of people which is definitely different because I’ve never talked to that many people.”

Arce’s time on stage was a memorable experience. 

“Being on stage did not feel real, almost like I was staring at a TV while talking to them. Performing wasn’t terribly nerve racking but when I had to talk to the coaches it felt completely unreal,” Arce said.

One of Arce’s classmates expressed their enthusiasm for her performance. 

“I think she did really well. She has so many years that she can improve, and I think she did really well for her age. She’s really good at acting, singing and dancing,” Jianna Ragonese, junior, said.

Arce’s mother explained she had an “out of body experience” while seeing her daughter perform.

“[It’s an] unexplainable feeling seeing your daughter on [The Voice], she’s worked extremely hard,” Tammie Arce said.

Arce’s mom encourages her daughter to audition again.

“I’m ready for it. Whatever it takes, whatever work has to be done, we will be on the first flight out,” Tammie said.

Arce had matching ideas for her future as a vocalist. 

“I would hope that I could continue doing this and get more people supporting me and definitely make it far,” Arce said.