Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Erin Willett has one of the more touching stories we’ve heard since The Voice began its second season.

A former resident of Gaithersburg, Md., she grew up around music, thanks in part to her father, who plays piano.

Now she’s 22, an acoustic pop-soul artist making a name for herself in the Long Island, N.Y., area.

But about a month and a half before her audition, she learned her father had been diagnosed with an untreatable, stage 4, pancreatic cancer.

“He has looked me in the eye and said, ‘I’m going to die of cancer,'” Erin told The Voice. “And that’s really hard to hear.”

But she adds that her dad has a positive attitude, and she doesn’t want to bring him down with her sadness. Indeed, she says The Voice has provided a welcome distraction for the family.

“It gives my dad a chance to see me live my dream,” she adds.

Erin sang “I Want You Back” for her audition and landed on Team Blake. She’s scheduled to square off against country singer Gwen Sebastian in the battle rounds on Monday.

Update:  Erin won her battle round with a emotion-filled performance of Pat Benetar’s “We Belong” that turned out to be the highlight of the third battle round episode.  But the tribute at the end of the show indicates that her dad lost his battle with cancer.

To follow Erin on her original Facebook page and hear more of her music, head here. On Twitter, she is @erin_willett.

Now, some Erin Willett music …

“Home,” original

“Daily City Hustle”

The Voice audition — “I Want You Back”