A love of old-school country music learned from his grandfather helped develop the mature signing style that won over judges.
From rising Telemundo singer to president of his high school choral program, from Mouseketeer to country crooning opener for LeAnn Rimes, Sean Oliu’s singing career has been as varied as it has been successful.
Not bad for a kid just out of high school.
Oliu, a recent graduate of Servite High, writes that he grew up with his father blasting Bruce Springsteen on road trips and his mother humming Jackson Browne around the house. But it was his grandpa’s collection of Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, George Jones and Hank Williams music, which the two of them would listen to and sing while fixing old cars, that grabbed his heart.
“Growing up, I thought ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s country records were what every kid was listening to,” wrote the Anaheim native.
That immersion comes through in his vocal stylings, according to judges who praised his mature, rich and authentic sound.
It also helped Oliu earn recognition as the 2020 vocal music Artist of the Year.
Judge Patrick Goeser of the Hall-Musco Conservatory of Music at Chapman University, summed up many judges’ reactions remarking on Oliu’s “sincere, easy, musically expressive delivery of the words” and “real honesty in (his) performance that is very moving and inspiring.
