Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Stephanie Anne Johnson, 29, of Tacoma, Wash., sang “Black Horse and a Cherry Tree.” About midway through the performance, Christina Aguilera and Cee Lo Green turned their chairs. Cee Lo said he heard soul and conviction in her performance. Christina said Stephanie Anne’s energy moved her.

Background: Thanks to her family, Stephanie Anne said she was introduced to a wide variety of music growing up. For instance, her grandmother performed blues during the week, then gospel music on Sundays. Stephanie Anne wound up studying classical voice and opera in college. But after graduating, she wound up working in a day care. “I just wanted to sing,” she recalls. Next step: A job working on a cruise ship in Alaska where she performed four to five hours a day. She says that helped her grow as a musician, but also means she’s at sea for eight months a year and misses lots of family occasions. “I’m ready to get back on land,” she told The Voice, adding that she wants to perform indie/soul music.

On choosing Christina: “It was difficult for me to choose on the spot because the things Cee Lo Green said about my voice were some of the best compliments I’ve ever gotten … But Christina Aguilera is iconic. And, you know, I was feeling girl power in the moment. I was feeling really strongly about going with a fellow female artist in the business.”

What the show didn’t show: Stephanie Anne has three albums worth of original material to her credit. Those include the 8-track “Orange” from 2011, the 12-track “For the Record” from 2012 and the 11-track “Hollatchgurl” from June of this year. You don’t have to go any further than “Busted Blues,” the lead track on the latter album, to find out how great Stephanie Anne sounds. She’s also got quite the personality, which is up front and center in the “Hello” video she posted to her YouTube channel a few days ago. On her blog, she writes: “I’ve been giving fake interviews to pretend Kurt Loader into my hairbrush in front of my mirror since I was 12 and now … Oh, my God .. Eeeeee! Holy moly, I’m on TV! Squeeee!.”

Quote: To Christina as she was choosing a coach — “You haven’t had a winner (on The Voice) yet. And we’re going to fix that.”

On iTunes: All three of her albums are now available on iTunes, as well as her Voice audition song.

Keeping up with Stephanie Anne: Twitter — MsStephanieSaid — Facebook — YouTube — Website

For profiles of other Season 5 contestants, go here.

Stephanie Anne Johnson, “Radioactive”

Stephanie Anne Johnson, “Mama’s Broken Heart” (yep, a Miranda Lambert cover)