Javier Colon Speaks

An avid racquetball player, Colon spoke with Pollstar from his West Hartford, Conn., home.

When you first started on this journey, did you see yourself as a guitarist first, as a singer first, or as you are now?

I started playing guitar when I was seven. I started playing piano around the same time. … My father was in the radio business and there was always music in the house. I was always mimicking things I heard on the radio. But I never actually sang in front of anyone until sixth grade. Once I did that, playing the guitar and singing started to go hand-in-hand. Seventh grade is really when it clicked with me. I started playing more and writing songs. Right now I’d call myself a singer first, guitarist second. Singing would definitely be my main instrument but I can’t see singing without playing guitar. They go hand-in-hand with me.

When you were a child singing songs you heard played on the radio, did you try to sing them exactly as the recording artists did?

I always tried to imitate [the singers]. Every inflection, I wanted it to sound good when I was singing with them. This was before you could go on iTunes and download the karaoke version. I learned how they sang. When I was learning the guitar parts, I was learning the solos, trying to get them exact.

Were there some artists that you could mimic better than others?

When you appeared on ‘The Voice” you had all four mentors vying for you. What made you go with Adam Levine?

I wanted to go into it with an open mind. I knew that it was a competition and there was more to it than picking your favorite artist. These people are the ones who will keep you in the competition or they’re going to send you home. At least in the first half of the competition before people start voting. You got to really believe these people want you on their team.

I had an idea that I might want to go with Adam. I was even thinking of going with Blake [Shelton]. I just wanted to feel it out.

First of all, they had to turn around. I didn’t know if anyone turned around. If multiple coaches turned around, then I was going to see what happened. I wanted to get a vibe from folks and Adam was definitely the most talkative and was adamant about what he saw me do on stage and made it very clear that he wanted me on his team. … That struck a chord with me. I felt that vibe from him. He said, “I want to win this, and I need you on my team.” And he made good on those words.

Your performance of Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time” was praised as being very soulful. Can any song be transformed into a soul or R&B tune?

I think you can take a song and put your own spin on it. Sometimes during my shows I’ll do Adele’s “Someone Like You,” and I keep it pretty true to what she does. But I sing it with my own voice and my own way. I try to make it my own.

How did your Fourth Of July gig in Washington, D.C. go?

It was the west lawn right in front of the Capital. One of the most amazing things I had ever been a part of. I think they said there were probably 500,000 people out there and I got to sing a song, “Stand By Me,” to pay tribute and salute our soldiers who have given so much to protect us. I was honored to be able to do that. I got to shake hands with a few of them that were in attendance. It was very moving for me.

Do you think you’ll stay in Connecticut or will you move to more of music business city such as Nashville or Los Angeles?

I won’t be moving anytime soon. I’ve always said the only way we would move out west is if it was a bi-coastal situation, if we had a place there and a place here. But I’m not ready to do that. I love Connecticut. I was born and raised here and my wife’s family lives in Massachusetts.

What’s the best piece of advice anyone has ever given you?

My dad has always told me to try to be a good father and a good husband. My family is everything to me, so I take that [advice] very seriously.

As far as the music business, I was told very early on not to trust anyone. That is something that has served me well, so far.

But in respects to the business, one of my first lawyers told me that I should always know every aspect of what I’m getting into. The contracts I’m signing, I should know what they’re saying and I should know everything about the business. I shouldn’t let people just kind of handle things for me. I should be hands on and do everything myself, at least be part of all decisions being made.

That was back in 2002 and I’m still doing it. It’s a business and you’ve got to be sure you’re on top of everything. That was a great bit of advice.

What do you see for the future, say in two to five years?

I hope that it’s going to be filled with a lot of touring, in the states as well as abroad. I definitely want to reach the people that were able to see season one of “The Voice” in other countries. I’ve got a lot of fans out there in Malaysia, the Philippines, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. I’ve got a lot of ground to cover, it will take me a while to do it, and that is what I’d like to do in the coming years as well as continue to release new music, to build the fan base. “The Voice” gave me a great start to build the fan base and now the goal is to keep it moving in the right direction, keep building.