A 24-year-old product of Catholic schools in the Diocese of Wilmington made a splash March 12 with a singing performance on the nationally televised competition show “The Voice” on NBC.
Olivia Rubini’s rendition of Linda Ronstadt’s “Long long time” won over acclaimed singer-songwriter John Legend, who captains one of the teams of fledgling singers who compete with the hope of kickstarting careers of their own.
Rubini graduated from St. John the Beloved School and Padua Academy, both in Wilmington, before earning degrees in political science and government and international relations and affairs from Mount St. Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Md. She is the daughter of Ritchie Rubini, a performer and music producer, and Therese Rubini, a longtime employee with the diocese Chancery Office in Wilmington.
Legend is a very popular American singer, songwriter, pianist, record producer and actor.
Other star team captains on the show include Chance the Rapper, country pop duo Dan + Shay and American country singer and actress Reba McEntire.
Rubini’s performance concluded the “blind auditions” portion of the show. The stars pick their own teams from among the auditions and are tasked with finding the country’s best undiscovered singers.
“A lot of my musical origin stems from my dad – he does it all,” Rubini said in a segment before her performance. “Growing up as a producer’s child was the best, little me, sleeping in guitar cases, hanging out with big, honking guitars that I had no business holding.
“When I was about 14, I came to my dad and I said ‘I’ve watched you produce everybody else, maybe you can kind of give me a go.’”
Ritchie and Therese appeared during the introduction segment.
“I’m so proud of you for going through this,” an emotional Ritchie said.
The next episode airs March 18, 8 p.m., on NBC.
