MARLISA. Inherent soulfulness and vocal resilience.
There’s more to Marlisa, the charming champion of “X Factor Australia’s” sixth edition, than her crowd-pleasing covers of Idina Menzel’s ubiquitous “Let It Go” and Alicia Keys’ “Girl On Fire.” “Blame” the songstress’ inherent soulfulness and vocal resilience on her Filipino roots—her parents, Lito and Andrea Punzalan, migrated Down Under before she and her older brother were born.
If you are drawn to the youthful vibe she exudes in her version of Pink’s “Try” and her self-titled debut album’s hit-making opener, “Stand By You,” she can’t help it—after all, Marlisa is only 15 years old—which is probably why her tunes are more noticeable for their energy (Sia’s “Titanium”) and Celine Dion-channeling trills (“All By Myself,” “Nothing Else Matters”) than for her interpretive flair (Shontelle’s “Impossible”)! Her singing style and curlicues are a cross between Dion and Aussie luminary Tina Arena.
The 11-track recording, which features studio versions of songs she had performed on “The X Factor,” puts “youthening” embellishments on Judy Garland’s timeless “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” and The Beatles’ enduring “Yesterday.” However, her remake of Olivia Newton-John’s “Hopelessly Devoted To You” sounds dated and is, as the original version was, frustratingly mawkish.
If there’s a track that truly captures Marlisa’s burgeoning versatility and promise as a skilled interpreter, it is the ethereally rendered (and genre-twisting) “Nothing Else Matters.” Ironically, it’s a Metallica number that the young comer has turned into a rallying show-stopper, about standing up for what you believe in: “Never cared for what they know/ Forever trusting (in) who we are/ So close, no matter how far/ Couldn’t be much more from the heart!”