“Christians should be everywhere”

One of the contestants of the last edition of “The Voice” in Spain was Marcos Martins, a 24-year-old Christian Portuguese singer who lives in the city of Valencia.

Martins impressed the four coaches of the TV show since the beginning, and he was one of the audience favourites during the whole edition. He chose to be in Alejandro Sanz’s team, and finished second in the final.

Although he did not win “The Voice”, everybody emphasised his gifts. His succes on TV has given him the opportunity to sing with pop star Sanz in some of the concerts he will do in touring this summer across Spain.

Marcos will also record his own album, and, as he told Protestante Digital in an interview, he hopes to make an impact with his music: “There is a necessity of being an example and a testimony in all areas of society.”

Question. Three weeks after the finals, how do you value the experience?

Answer. It is clearly an experience that I will remember the rest of my life. It is a mix of emotions, nerves, anxiety, patience, effort and learning, all together... and so fast! Every time I passed a stage, I needed to think in the next one. You could not taste the victories.

Everything goes so fast, but, at the same time, it is like a train you do not want to lose. It demands a lot of concentration and the capacity of forgetting the competition and enjoying music, in the middle of all that tension.

His first performance impressed all four coaches.

Q. During the program, you had the opportunity to meet many artists, what is your impression of them?

A. My impression is that artists are like open books. They live what they do, and that is why they are so emotional, so it is easy to connect with them through emotions.

When someone exposes his emotions like that, at the end you can see what they have inside, and you can talk to them openly.

I have loved to meet a lot of people in the program, because I like to be with real, spontaneous people, who speak the same language as I do, although they say different things.

Singing with Alejandro Sanz.

I have also come to the conclusion that Spain is full of good artists, very talented people, although they are underestimated.

Q. Do you think that TV and the music industry are complicated places for Christians?

A. Complicated? Maybe… but I believe Christians should be everywhere, because there is a necessity of being an example and a testimony in all areas of the society.

Does a singer has more temptations than a football player? Or a lawyer? Or a psychologist? Or a missionary in India? I believe that the pressures from outside can only condition you if you are not guarding your interior.

The Christian lives from inside out, and not the other way round. What I do believe is that for each task, we have to prepare ourselves differently, depending on the challenge we have to face.

But it is true that God gives His grace always in accordance with the challenge He puts in our way, so we should not worry, but be attentive. At the end, Christ´s mentality is not like the Jew´s, who believed that they were contaminated by everything they touched, but the idea is that, whatever we touch, we sanctify it. The logic is the other way round!

Q. I imagine that, after the show, many recognise you in the streets. What has this meant to you, has it changed your everyday life?

With José Mercé, a famous Spanish flamenco singer.

A. It has changed my everyday life and my schedules. When I go to the mall, if it took me an hour before the show, now I have to add half an hour more for pictures and conversations with people who stop me.

The truth is that I like to feel people´s affection, to know how much they appreciate what I have done in the program, and many talked about my beliefs, which makes me so happy, because that was what I wanted.

It comforts me to see that my position was not indifferent, or passed unnoticed, even for those who do not know me. That means I have accomplished my goal.

Q. Many evangelicals have followed you during the program, have you felt their support?

A. Yes, I have definitely felt the support of Christians, mainly of those who tell me that they pray for me. That is very important for me, and it is the best thing they can do for me.

Of course, I have also heard many different opinions, and there are always people who what to give advices, and some even preach me in my social networks. But we have to keep the good things, understand the contexts where we are, and, above all, listen to those who are closer, the ones I really trust, who know me very well.

Despite that, I am very grateful to those who followed the program and supported me, sent messages, voted for me, and are still there for the new challenges.

I have a lot of friends in Spain and abroad, that sent me pictures watching the program in their houses, they gathered with friends from school or work to watch the show, and that is amazing.

That gave me a sense of responsibility as a Christian, which is good and healthy, not only for someone who appears in television, but for each one of us, wherever we are.

Q. The music industry is very difficult, but, have you received opportunities after “The Voice”? What is your perspective about your future as a singer?

A. I have some plans now. As Alejandro Sanz said in a radio interview, I am going to record an album. And, for what I know, I will sing, at least one more time, with the master of the Spanish music, which is a great honour.

I will try to take advantage of these next months, to learn as much as I can , to know the world of music better, and to work to be able to give what I have to the Iberian music.

I hope to give something new, and I would like to bring hope and the loving message that we find in Christ, through my songs, but especially through my life.

One of his last performances in The Voice.