Army officer's daughter debuts strong on NBC's 'The Voice'

While many aspiring singers have frequent stops on their journey to fame and fortune, most can’t match an Army family member.

“I’ve moved ... wow, I’ve moved a lot,” said 17-year-old Bryana Salaz, daughter of Col. Ed Salaz and contestant on NBC’s singing competition show “The Voice.” “I’ve been to so many schools I can’t even count. This is my fourth high school.”

Bryana’s most recent move — her 10th, she figures — was from Fort Sam Houston, Texas, to Scott Air Force Base, Illinois. Her father’s stationed in nearby St. Louis, standing up the 757th Transportation Center. Her initial “Voice” tryout came before that shift.

In Bryana’s “blind audition” round that aired Sept. 22, she performed her version of the Ariana Grande hit “Problem” to the backs of the four judges’ chairs. Judges push a button to signal interest in the singer and the chairs turn around.

In Bryana’s case, Maroon 5 frontman Adam Levine spun first, followed by country music star Blake Shelton, then Gwen Stefani. Pharrell Williams was the only judge — called “coaches” by the show, as they mentor teams of contestants — to pass.

Bryana chose to join Stefani’s team. There will be two rounds of taped performances before live shows begin Nov. 17, a show spokeswoman said; contestants can’t comment on their taped performances before they air, and the spokeswoman couldn’t say when Bryana would next appear.

“The amount of support I’ve been getting has been absolutely crazy,” she said. “I don’t have a hometown that I can really, really call my home, [but] I think that’s also an advantage, because I can connect to, of course, the military families, and everywhere I’ve gone, I’ve made great friendships.”

The first step to singing in front of millions on network TV began when she was a sixth-grader in Hawaii. A frequent singer around the house — her dad recalled having to let slip the classic “Knock it off, I’m watching the game!” at least once — Bryana’s mom signed her up for a talent contest at Schofield Barracks.

“That was the first time I focused and listened to her,” said the colonel, who joined the Army Reserve in 1986 and has been on AGR duty since returning from an Operation Desert Storm deployment in the early 1990s. “I just remember, my jaw dropped.”

Dad wasn’t the only one who caught on.

“People started telling me, ‘You can do this for a career if you wanted to,’ ” she said. “It was kind of crazy to hear.”

That led to more singing and acting in Georgia, after a move, and to a tryout for “America’s Got Talent,” another NBC performance show. She didn’t make it past the early rounds, but said the singers-only setup on “The Voice” makes it a better fit.

“It’s been really awesome,” she said. “It doesn’t really hit you that you’re singing on ‘The Voice’ until someone turns around. I was very lucky and very blessed to get three chairs; I’m very excited to see what happens next.”

So is her loudest cheering section.

“My dad has been one of my biggest supporters, along with my mom and the rest of my family,” she said. “He has made a lot of sacrifices with his job for me, and to have a dad like that, it’s just a great blessing. I don’t think I could ask for a better dad.”