Jason Farol with Justin Hopkins and Sonnet

Jason Farol: Jason Farol was born and raised in Torrance, CA.  In early 2012 while studying Kinesiology at California State University, Dominguez Hills Jason was offered the opportunity of a lifetime: to sing alongside Kelly Clarkson on the hit, summer, show Duets. While on the show Jason showcased and fine-tuned his talents and earned himself a spot in the Duets season finale.  Singing a broad range of songs, from Runaway Baby by Bruno Mars to Elvis Presley’s Heartbreak Hotel, Jason has emerged as a versatile artist.  Since then Jason has performed at the Hollywood Bowl sharing the stage with The Fray, Kelly Clarkson, Carolina Liar, and John Legend.  Jason has also performed with Kelly Clarkson when her tour stopped in San Diego California.  He is truly one of the rising stars to look out for in today’s music world. 

Justin Hopkins: They say having connections in the industry can be invaluable, but connections only get you so far in a blind audition on The Voice Season 2. In 2008, Justin Hopkins spent nine months playing the guitar in the house band on The Carson Daly Show. The Voice host admitted he hogged Justin’s talents, but told him it was time to share those talents with the judges. But Justin started performing long before Carson’s show. In 2004 he formed the band Justin Hopkins & The Guilt in California. He recorded his first album, Here Goes Nothing Vol. 1, in 2008 and his second album, We Are Where We Came From, followed soon after. He took to The Voice stage to prove he was more than just a guitarist and was picked up by judge Cee Lo Green. Justin, it looks like Carson Daly will be announcing your music and not the other way around this time! Follow Justin on Facebook, Twitter, and Myspace.

Sonnet :  Combine Gwen Stefani’s electro pop beats interwoven with Fiona Apple’s lyrical aptitude and Sara Bareilles’ piano styling, and you encapsulate the sound of Sonnet Simmons’ self-titled debut EP. Sonnet, whose name is derived from the Italian word, “sonetto” signifying a “little song” or “little sound,” delivers a fresh perspective of pop, illuminated with pulsating electronic beats and themes that connect across emotional lines and frame her eight-song debut. This ascending singer-songwriter first captivated national audiences with her song, “You’re So Good for Me,” which was featured in a Coca Cola/Lagoon Park campaign, hitting the Top 100 downloads list for Amazon, appearing on i-Tunes, and garnering over 40K downloads in its first month. In August of 2012, Overstock.com debuted the first in a series of three commercials featuring Sonnet singing the Overstock.com song, “O is the One,” which she co-wrote. Despite her melodic and piano prowess, Sonnet wasn’t born into the music business or plucked from a reality show competition. Her life experience is much more colorful than your typical pop star. Throughout her childhood, Sonnet lived a gypsy-like lifestyle with her mother and sister, travelling around Europe and Asia. Born in Greece, she eventually travelled from Switzerland to India with various stops in between, changing schools five times before the end of 6th grade. During her nomadic adventures when she was constantly moving from one place to the next, music was her solace, her rhythmical soul mate. After attending Hamilton Music Academy of Music (a performing arts high school in LA), she received a Jazz Voice degree from UCLA. Following graduation, she subsequently moved to New York with her first love, in hopes of making her dreams as a musician come true, only to realize that she needed to find her own voice before further embarking on her musical journey. “I thought writing was out of my grasp,” she recalls, “but it was the missing link.” On September 25th this multi-faceted songstress will release her new self-titled EP, which includes eight new tracks that blend energetic dance anthems and compelling vocals, while incorporating traces of some of her greatest inspirations—Joni Mitchell, Ella Fitzgerald, and Ani Difranco. For this pivotal project, she enlisted a preeminent team of producers, mixers and composers who have all worked with such musical megastars as Michael Jackson, Adele, Beyonce, and Josh Groban. With her upcoming EP, Sonnet examines male and female dynamics and shares the lessons she’s learned about love, life, and relationships. Her creative doctrine, so poignantly articulated by 13-century poet, RUMI, is “You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.”