POESY, a 23-year-old singer from London, Ont., was almost at a loss for words when she was chosen at the end of Wednesday’s episode of The Launch to release the single “Soldier of Love.”
“I don’t have any emotions, I guess. I don’t know,” she said. “For a long time I was like, ‘maybe I’m not good enough to do this. I should get another job and do something else.’ Now I don’t feel like I should do that anymore.”
POESY, whose real name is Sarah Botelho, was picked by music mogul Scott Borchetta, pop star Fergie and songwriter Stephan Moccio.
“Soldier of Love,” penned by Moccio, is now available to buy and stream everywhere you get music, including at iHeartRadio.
“Anything could come from this, anything could happen,” POESY said on the show.
Growing up in Ancaster, Ont., POESY took singing lessons – after showing potential while singing at her grandparents’ 40th anniversary party. In 2016, she released an EP titled The Spotless Mind.
POESY auditioned for The Launch panel with her unique take on Radiohead’s 1993 hit “Creep.”
“I got chills all over my body,” Fergie said after the performance.
Also vying for the opportunity to release “Soldier of Love” was Ezra Jordan, the 23-year-old son of Canadian music industry veterans Marc Jordan and Amy Sky. He auditioned with a soulful cover of Allen Stone’s 2011 song “Unaware” that impressed the mentors.
“I’ll listen to that all day,” Fergie gushed. “There wasn’t enough space in the room for your voice.”
Next to audition was Faiza, who delivered her version of Aaliyah’s 1998 track “Are You That Somebody” followed by her original “Body Babe.”
The mentors also considered Jaryd Stanley and Sariyah Hines.
POESY is the fourth act to benefit from The Launch. She follows Logan Staats (“The Lucky Ones’), Elijah Woods x Jamie Fine (“Ain’t Easy”) and The Static Shift (“Wide Awake”).
On next week’s episode of The Launch, singer-songwriter Julia Michaels and record producer Ian Kirkpatrick join Borchetta to choose one of five contenders: James Marshall, Jayd Ink, and Noelle Maracle of Ontario; Nicky MacKenzie of BC; and Zack Lane of New Brunswick.
Catch The Launch on Wednesday nights on CTV. (The Launch: Director's Cut is available on CTV.ca, CTV GO, and CraveTV immediately following the broadcast.)