Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Her audition: Timyra-Joi (Beatty), 15, of San Diego, Calif., sang Alicia Keys’ “This Girl is On Fire,” and was on fire, prompting Christina to turn around in a heartbeat. Right before the song ended, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton spun around, too. Adam Levine called Timyre-Joi “an unpolished diamond.”

Background: Timyra-Joi’s mom says she knew her daughter had a special singing talent when she was in kindergarten. So she’s had a vocal coach since age 5, one who stopped charging the family for lessons when Timyra-Joi’s dad lost his job four years later and even took the family in for about six months until he could get the family “back on their feet.” Timyra-Joi said she’s also hoping The Voice will help her sort out who she is as an artist.

On picking Christina: “Cee Lo was my first choice, but I went with Christina because she fought for me and she really believed in me. She even said that with her own words. So I just had to pick her.”

What the show didn’t show: Timyra-Joi said her first big public appearance came at age 5 when she sang the national anthem at the National School Board Association meeting in San Diego. At age 9, she competed on “America’s Most Talented Kids.” A year later, she won a VH1 songwriters award for an inspirational song called “What Kind of World.” A high school junior, Timyra-Joi says she is home-schooled, which allows her plenty of time to practice music, something she says she does about three hours a day. Celine Dion was an early influence; she says Beyonce is a big inspiration now. “I’m the only musical person in my family,” the Philly native said in a conference call interview the day after her audition aired. “My brother does write music, but that’s pretty much it. So I don’t really know where I got if from, probably just God.” Oh, and she recently gained a new family member, a cat she found on the street and named Conan.

Quote: “I’ve learend over the years that if I focus too much on how I sound, then I won’t sound good. So I go up there every time and plan to sing from my heart and not really worry about what other people think of my voice.”

On iTunes: Just the studio version of her Voice audition song.

Keeping up with Timyra-Joe: On Twitter — @TIMYRAJOIMUSIC — Facebook — YouTube — Website

For profiles of other Season 5 contestants, go here.

Timyra-Joi, “Rolling in the Deep” (cover)

Timyra-Joi, “Big White Room” (cover)