THE VOICE’s Gina Zo has opened up about what prompted her to temporarily walk away from the music industry following her run on the show in an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun.
Gina – who competed on The Voice during Season 10 at the age of 17 – admitted life after the show wasn’t what she expected, and her experiences drove her to step away from music altogether.
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Nowadays, the Pennsylvania native – birth name Gina Costanzo, though known professionally as Gina Zo – has returned to the stage as the lead singer of the band Velvet Rouge, which is preparing to drop their debut EP on July 26.
However, when she started in the biz as a teenager, Gina had some mixed feelings about pursuing a singing career.
In an exclusive interview with The U.S. Sun, the now 28-year-old reflected on her memorable time on The Voice, thanks to her mother’s encouragement, being on Team Blake, and the aftermath of getting sent home during the battle rounds.
“I didn’t know that I was gonna get on, of course, but it had to be my idea,” Gina said about auditioning for the singing competition show.
‘IT ENDED UP WORKING OUT’
“My mom had been telling me my whole life, ‘You should go on The Voice. You should go on American Idol’. And you never listen to your mother,” she continued.
“So it took until my choir teacher annoyed me about something that I was like, You know what, I’m gonna graduate high school, and I’m gonna go on The Voice. And shockingly, it ended up working out.”
Gina appeared on the show when Blake Shelton, Adam Levine, Christina Aguilera, and Pharrell sat in the coach’s chairs.
Having auditioned later in the blinds, most of the judges had already filled their teams, except Blake, who was holding out for another showstopping performer.
After hearing Gina’s incredible voice, Blake turned his chair, and the pair continued working together for several episodes thereafter.
Gina even had Blake’s now-wife, Gwen Stefani, as her mentor during one week of the competition.
But Gina’s time on The Voice came to an end when she was defeated in the battle rounds by fellow competitor Peyton Parker.
The experience was a whirlwind for Gina, who was fresh out of high school upon joining the show and shortly after singing under a record label.
“When I got off The Voice, I signed to a small label and eventually formed my band,” the former TV star explained before detailing her love/hate relationship with the industry that followed.
The Voice Season 27 Coaches
The Voice has gone through many coaches in its various seasons. Some stay on for a while, while others only stay for one season. Here is who will be coaching Season 27 in 2025.
Adam Levine – Season 1 to 16, 27
John Legend – 16 to 22, 24 to 25, 27
Kelsea Ballerini – 15, Comeback Stage, 20, 27
Michael Buble – 26 and 27
“I realized for a bit that I hated the music industry, that it was awful that people were so sexist and didn’t trust young women and just wanted to use them.
“And so I quit for a while, and when I went back, that’s when I formed Velvet Rouge a couple of years ago,” Gina proudly stated.
Later in the interview, Gina again discussed her earlier days in the industry and stressed that signing with a label wasn’t all it was cracked up to be.
“What I will say about this, and it’s not to call [the record label] out by any regard. This is not meant to make anyone feel hurt. But I think when you’re a young woman in the industry, you are the perfect person for everyone. Everyone wants a piece of you,” the performer began.
“I felt like my vision wasn’t being taken seriously. I felt like constantly I was told that if I didn’t follow what they were saying was the best plan then I didn’t want my career. I didn’t really want anything.”
TAKING CHARGE
It was then that she vowed to only work with those who share the same vision for her music.
“I hated everything about music. I hated it, I hated, I hated it, and everyone thought it was so cool that I was signed to a label. And, yes, it is cool to an extent, but not when the people that you’re working with don’t care about you.
“And so when I came back to music, I was like, I’m doing this my way. I’m working with the people I want to work with. I’m only working with people that trust my vision. I’m done with working with people because they say they can offer you something.”
Gina continued, “And that’s my biggest advice to the younger generation of singers coming up right now: Don’t just sign with someone because they say they can do something for you.
“That’s not the right answer, and you will end up being oversexualized, and you will be put into rooms that you shouldn’t be in, and you will be made to feel like you’re not good enough if you do not work with the people that you know you should, and at 18, you don’t know any of that.
“You don’t have that understanding of who you even are, who you want to be. And so you really want to be with people who want the best for you. And unfortunately, I definitely was not.”
STEPPING BACK
Gina added that walking away gave her clarity on what she wanted for her future and how she wanted to get there.
“It totally changed everything for me when I walked away and came back on my own terms, and [Velvet Rouge] have never been more successful since leading that situation.
“And I now feel like I look back at the voice with such joy, and I look back at the time that I was at the label with, not hatred, and now it’s more like, oh, I can’t wait to prove you wrong,” she ended.
Velvet Rouge drops their EP this weekend and has a string of performances scheduled in the tri-state area through the summer.
In May, the band released the first single off the album Lonely Since The Day We Met and its music video.
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