Competing on The Voice can push musicians to a whole new level, something Gina Castanzo found out when she joined Team Blake Shelton and was mentored by Gwen Stefani

Gina Zo has shared her experience of meeting Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani had some harsh words of advice for one singer on The Voice, leaving the contestant in tears.

Gina Castanzo, who goes by the stage name Gina Zo, was only 17 years old when she took part in season 10 of the show, quickly gaining a spot on Team Blake Shelton where she was mentored by Gwen. After one rehearsal session, Gina remembers Gwen telling her she was “trying too hard”.

The singer, who is now performing in the band Velvet Rouge, has admitted she wasn’t overly confident on The Voice, but credited Gwen’s tough-love approach with helping her flourish. Speaking to The Mirror US about the incident, Gina said: “When I was first doing my practice with her, she said that I sounded like I was trying too hard, that I was lame.

Gwen Stefani had some harsh advice ( 

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Gina Castanzo was mentored by her on The Voice ( 

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“Oh my God, I went home and sat in my tub and I cried. And the next day I went back and I’d practiced all night. I was like, ‘Oh my God, like this is an idol of mine, I’m not gonna let this be what she thinks of me’.

“And I went back the next day, I reworked it, I redid it and I remember saying to her like, ‘Gwen what did you think?’ And she ran up and gave me a hug and was like, ‘So much better. It was beyond what you did yesterday. It was so much more who you are, natural’.”

Gina explained how that encounter “affirmed who I thought I was” and gave her the confidence to carry on. She added: “Honestly, I felt so connected to Gwen Stefani when we were together.”

Gina is now performing with her band Velvet Rouge ( 

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Velvet Rouge are about to release their debut single, which has been in the works for almost a year. Gina revealed they wrote 50 songs for it before having to whittle it down.

The singer said her songs aren’t “your standard love story” as she focuses a lot of her writing on “the love you have for yourself”. She added: “So for this, the inspiration really came from my struggles. I was working at the time when I started writing this and it was that balance struggle, like how do I live a normal life and then how do I also do my music life.”