Rabbi’s Great-Granddaughter Who Starred in ‘Curly Sue’ Wins ‘The Voice’
Graphic by Angelie Zaslavsky
By Maia Efrem May 25, 2016
The big winner in last night’s “The Voice” finale was none other than the beloved Jewish former child star-turned-singer Alisan Porter.
Best known for her adorable role as the title character in the 1991 Jim Belushi hit “Curly Sue,” the 34-year-old mother of two helped make “Voice” history when her coach, Christina Aguilera, became the first female coach to have a winning contestant. Singing her original song “Down That Road,” Porter sobbed as she belted out her winning song, all the while holding one of her kids as the rest of her family proudly looked on.
The great-granddaughter of a Worcester, Massachusetts rabbi, Porter has music and dance in her blood. Her mother was a dance coach and her father was the lead singer and songwriter of the Worcester band Zonkaraz. At the age of five, Porter became the youngest contestant to win on “Star Search.” Watch her ridiculously cute appearance here. You won’t regret it.
Image by YouTube
Porter was a frontrunner on “The Voice” from the very beginning, with coach Adam Levine predicting she would win during her blind audition. “That was the most beautiful, flawless, passionate, pitch-perfect thing I have ever heard in my entire life,” he told her. “I’m astonished by you. You’re going to win ‘The Voice.’” Looks like he was right.
Watch Porter’s winning moment below:
Why I became the Forward’s Editor-in-Chief
You are surely a friend of the Forward if you’re reading this. And so it’s with excitement and awe — of all that the Forward is, was, and will be — that I introduce myself to you as the Forward’s newest editor-in-chief.
And what a time to step into the leadership of this storied Jewish institution! For 129 years, the Forward has shaped and told the American Jewish story. I’m stepping in at an intense time for Jews the world over. We urgently need the Forward’s courageous, unflinching journalism — not only as a source of reliable information, but to provide inspiration, healing and hope.
Support our mission to tell the Jewish story fully and fairly.
