Bryana Salaz

Early life

Born the daughter of Colonel Edward Salaz and raised in a military family, Bryana has moved every two to three years since she was born. This includes attending four high schools between her freshman and senior years. Her many moves taught Bryana to easily adapt to her environment.

Early Days

Bryana’s initial aspiration wasn’t in music. For many years, her passion was playing soccer. She was 12 years old when her mom entered her in a military singing competition. Salaz reluctantly agreed to participate. With a lot of encouragement, she stepped onto the stage and discovered that not only did she love singing, she also loved being on stage. As a result of the competition, she was asked to perform at several different venues in Hawaii such as Don Ho’s Island Grill, Martin Luther King Jr. event at Kapiolani Park and she performed the National Anthem for the D.A.R.E. program with an audience of about 10,000. After discovering the passion Bryana had for singing, she was referred to one of the best vocal instructors in Hawaii, Yvonne Iversen. Once Bryana got a taste of entertaining, she was unstoppable. She participated in multiple singing competitions and was awarded first place at the Iolani Talent Competition in 2010. She branched out into performing in musicals and auditioned for High School Musical 2 at the Ft. Shafter Richardson Theatre. Although she was allowed to audition, they told her she was too young for any of the roles. The director, impressed with the audition, created a role for her as the "Jr. Sharpettes." She went on to perform in several more musicals. Upon moving to Atlanta, Bryana continued performing in the theater and singing competitions. She auditioned for America’s Got Talent in 2011 and advanced to the Las Vegas Rounds.

2014: The Voice

In September 2014, it was announced that Bryana would compete in Season 7 of The Voice on the advice of Gwen Stefani. On the first episode of Season 7, Bryana covered Ariana Grande's "Problem." Three coaches (Adam Levine, Gwen Stefani and Blake Shelton) turned around, though Pharrell Williams said that the only reason for not turning his chair was because he felt that Bryana would connect more with Gwen that with himself. Bryana ended up choosing Gwen as her coach. At the Battle rounds, Salaz faced Gianna Salvato where they sang "Boom Clap." Bryana was chosen over Salvato, in the process advancing to the Knockout rounds. During the Knockouts, Salaz sang "Heart Attack" in which she defeated her opponent Sugar Joans and advanced to The Live Playoffs. During the Playoffs, Bryana performed a rendition of 5 Seconds of Summer's "Amnesia." Though her performance was highly praised by the four coaches, especially her coach Gwen, Salaz saw herself being eliminated on the Playoffs Results night, as her teammate, Ryan Sill, was chosen to advance to the Top 12. Her elimination, along with Taylor Phelan's, was the most contested one that night, as many believed that both were certain names on the Top 12.

2015: Sweet Suspense

On June 11, 2015, it was announced that Bryana became a member of the girl-band Sweet Suspense, replacing Celine Polenghi as the third member of The X Factor alum group. They were set to release a single; "Money" in 2015; however, in September, it was officially announced that she had left the group to pursue a career in TV, leaving the future of the group unclear.

2016: Best Friends Whenever, SNRG

In 2016, Bryana confirmed that she would be joining the second season of the Disney Channel show Best Friends Whenever. Bryana also confirmed that she would be reuniting with Celine and former Sweet Suspense member Summer Reign, to form a new girl band called 'SNRG' and that they were talking to major record labels and film studios about their music. In May 2016, it was confirmed that she left SNRG.

Influences

In addition to Grande and Stefani, Bryana's pop style is influenced by artists such as Christina Aguilera, Beyoncé and Whitney Houston.