Local music artist, former Sacramento State student and “The Voice” contestant, Lindsey Pavao, discovered what it takes to be in the music industry through a journey during and after her time on the hit television show.

When auditioning for the second season of “The Voice” in Los Angeles, Pavao’s intention was not to be on television. She only tried out after the owner of the bar she was working at encouraged.

“My whole life I knew that I wanted to do music, but I had never had any sort of affirmation or ‘aha’ moment,” Pavao said.“For me, it was go out and audition for people who are paid to hate you, and if they like you, then maybe it’s something you should share and do.”

Culture shock is how Pavao described her transition from singing locally as a solo artist to singing in front of millions of people every week on “The Voice,” under the coaching of Christina Aguilera.

She was eliminated in the semi-final round, but discovered what it took to be an artist at a high level.

Pavao said she learned a lot of different aspects about the entertainment industry from performing and making eye contact with an audience and television production. The most prevalent thing she learned was promoting.

“Being in the music industry has a lot to do with being an entrepreneur more than being an artist,” Pavao said. “On a local level, it’s about being an artist, but if you want to be part of a bigger picture, then it’s about being an entrepreneur and an advocate for yourself.”

Pavao said being an entrepreneur is pivotal on a competitive level because there are a lot of people who want to be noticed as well. At the local level, musicians can focus more on being an artist for a smaller crowd. .

After returning home to Sacramento from “The Voice,” Pavao said she experienced culture shock again when she realized the number of fans had grown.

Local filmmaker Jim Bailey started filming several of Pavao’s performances, including one at the Dive Bar on K Street, shortly after her return from Los Angeles.

 “There were several very enthusiastic fans three to four feet away yelling and cheering through each song as if they were at an arena concert instead of a small intimate venue,” Bailey said. “While Lindsey didn’t falter in her performance, I imagine it could be disconcerting at times [with people that loud and close to her].”

Pavao works for Entercom radio where she handles the social media, analyzation of data, contributes ideas to songs that could potentially be played on the radio and helps with the planning of some promotional events for the Sacramento station Radio 94.7.

“It’s kind of like “The Voice,” just learning a different angle of music,” Pavao said. “It’s a lot more of the business end of things. We’re not writing songs here, but I’m learning a lot about what makes a song accessible [and] relatable to a lot of people.”

Patrick Cooper, program director for Radio 94.7, reached out to Pavao after her time on the show and thought she would be a good addition to the Entercom company.

“I think she represents integrity of music,” Cooper said. “She brings an artistry that gives credibility to music discovery and the fact that we are a local radio station and we have roots in the music side of things, she can expand our horizons musically.”

Pavao is working on an indie rock album, which will be released soon, and her first single, “Cinnamon,” was recently released and can be listened to at Lindseyapavao.bandcamp.com.

Her next performance is May 30, where she will be opening for the six piece indie band, Life in 24 Frames, who will perform a Radiohead tribute show.  

“Lindsey’s well known for taking a cover song and making it uniquely her own,” Bailey said. “She’s also a very good songwriter in her own right. For the most part, these cover songs, overall, are quieter and more introspective songs and she has a way of drawing the audience’s attention with the words.”

Pavao said she enjoys the work she is involved in at Entercom and looks forward to working with Life in 24 Frames. She said she still enjoys performing and playing music and is seeing where things take her as an artist.

“If you want to be an artist or be in the music industry, it’s going to be a longer road than a lot of other things,” Pavao said.