La Voix Brings Back The Voice
By Jason Salerno
La Voix made waves across the Atlantic last season with her vocal prowess on Simon Cowell’s hit competition show, Britain’s Got Talent. Now the gender-illusionist is taking aim at stateside lip-syncing queens, telling them it’s time to retire the copycat act and step up to the mike to belt out their own tunes. She’s showing them how it’s done with her double-single album of beautifully energized and contemporary arrangements of American standards “Don’t Rain On My Parade” and “New York, New York”. Accompanying her are the sexy men and lesbians of The London Gay Big Band.
First, how do you pronounce your name?
It’s La Vwarrrr. How glamorous?
Did you come up with it yourself?
The American drag star, Lypsinka, has always massively inspired me. I love how she based her act on the glamour of the 1950s and how her name defined her act. I wanted to base my act around the strong iconic women of the 1950s too, but use my singing and impersonations skills alongside it. That’s why I became La Voix, French for ‘the voice’.
What attracted you to Big Band music?
It’s loud like me! Big band is easily the most lively and high-energy type of live music so I was instantly drawn to it. I love to belt a top note.
Are the first to mix drag with big band?
It hasn’t been done to this scale, that’s for sure. My act is as authentic as possible. You never saw Judy singing to backing tracks so you won’t catch me either. Also, it’s just so different to what people consider a drag show to be. It’s pure pizzazz!
Where did you find all those sexy guys for your band? Seriously, if I knew band geeks were that sexy, I would have joined the school band when I had the chance!
They are a mix of lawyers, scientists and teachers. Basically I find hot guys and force them to learn instruments by whipping them, Fifty Shades style.
What else can they do with that trumpet? Just kidding! On to the next question. Tell us about your decision to take your act to Britain’s Got Talent.
We weren’t sure whether to do it or not but we were quickly glad that we did.
Did you enjoy the experience?
The show looked after us so well and really embraced the whole campiness and drag element of our act. They never showed me as a boy or out of character. It was a great platform for us. And they made my frocks! I got to keep them too, so big bonus there.
What was it like to face the judges each week?
Petrifying! They are very good about building the tension and making it must-see television. Just before you step out on stage, the producers would ask things like, “So how do you feel about performing in front of eleven million viewers?”
Did you spend your weeks feverishly preparing for the next competition?
There was no down time. There were musical arrangements to be made, then we would rehearse like mad with the band and dancers, I had endless fittings, there were camera rehearsals and sound checks. It was trying to make sure everything was right for that one final performance in front of the judges.
Tell us the truth. Did the pressure of the show get to those sexy band queens? Did you ever have to bitch slap them into shape?
It was like “All about Eve”. The leader of the band spent longer in makeup than I did! Sometimes they needed to be told who the real queen was. They would get me back by playing the song extra fast while I was trying to walk down the stairs. The bitches.
The audiences loved your performances, which is to your credit because “New York, New York” and “Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend” are two of the most overly performed songs. What did you do to make the songs your own?
It was all about version selection. We performed the incredible Liza Minnelli arrangement of “New York New York”. It’s a version of the song that not many people know and it has such an amazing build. We had three standing ovations during the song! For “Diamonds”, we used the Moulin Rouge version to give the most costume and face options and also because it sweeps across generations. Simon Cowell loved it, calling it “very authentic”.
By the way, being a Brit, why did choose to perform American standards over British standards?
It goes back to my passion for 1950’s Hollywood. I adore that whole era. I do British songs in my live show, though.
What took so long to release your own recordings?
Have you ever tried to pin down twenty lesbians and gay guys to record? Nightmare!
You need me to take care of those boys for you? I’ll show them what they can do with their trumpets.
Back off; bitch. It’s my band!
Ok, ok. Seriously, I love you and what you’re bringing to the stage, La Voix. You are uniquely fabulous. I hope you launch the next British Invasion to the states.
Why, thank you! The next dream is to play the states and show your lip-syncing queens that it’s time to bring back the glamour…and the voice.
Visit lavoixtheshow.com
