Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Jeffery Austin is congratulated backstage after winning his knockout round on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

After excelling in musical theater in high school, he stepped away from singing for six years while working a public relations job in Manhattan.

That’s not typically a recipe for success on a show where he’s surrounded by younger singers who have been unwavering in their pursuit of careers as entertainers.

But Jeffery has been one of the pleasant surprises for Team Gwen.

After all, he went from turning just one chair with his blind audition to delivering the most popular cover on the third night of the knockout round when he performed “Turning Tables” by Adele.

The song reached number 105 on the iTunes’s singles chart; the next most popular lagged 30 spots behind that.

The performance also allowed Jeffery to win his Team Gwen showdown with Kota Wade and advance to next week’s live playoffs, where fans will get to vote on who advances for the first time in Season 9.

“It’s very weird,” Jeffery said during a Tuesday conference call with the media. “I kind of put music on hold and completely focused on a professional career. So being able to have the response that I have now is incredible because it’s something I’ve always wanted.”

As for the secret to his success after such a long layoff … he gives much of the credit to his coach, Gwen Stefani.

“Probably the biggest area that I improved on and it was really showcased last (Monday) night was the emotional connection to the song,” the 24-year-old from Chicago said. “I’ve always approached a song from the technical aspect, like a trained vocalist. Never really focusing on the emotion and just sliding by on the technical positives in my voice.”

Gwen, he said, “wouldn’t let anything slide.”

“So if she didn’t believe me when I was singing, she was like, ‘Sing it again until I believe you.'”

The result: Jeffery is just one of three original members of Team Gwen — along with Koren Bukowski and Braiden Sunshine — to make the live playoffs.

For more on Jeffery, go here. And check back Monday night for a live blog when the Top 20 begin performing on The Voice.