Idol Chatter & Voice Views

Stephanie Rice performs Tuesday night on The Voice. (NBC Photo)

“I plan to hit a studio as soon as I can,” she said after her elimination Tuesday night.

“I have a lot of material that I have not recorded yet,” she added. “And I feel it in me that I’m going to have a lot more material to write as well.”

But during a conference call with the media Wednesday, Stephanie said the message she was able to share by being on the show was as important to her as the singing.

Little wonder. She arrived at the blind auditions with one of the more heart-wrenching stories shared by a contestant during the show’s 12 seasons.

As a teenager, she came out to her parents as gay. Her father is a Baptist minister and insisted she attend “straight” counseling.

When she balked at a second round of counseling, she said her parents dropped her off in the parking lot of the community college she was attending and abandoned her.

“I want to be remembered as a person who has a story of survival, that I represent everyone who’s ever felt unloved in their lives and that you can find something positive to dedicate your life to,” she said during the conference call.

“And my goal was to hopefully impact just one life, and fortunately, I’ve been able to receive a lot of love and messages from people all over the world saying that my story has helped them in their own personal journey.

“And honestly, I wasn’t expecting that much of an impact and I felt like that was even more important than the singing itself.”

Just last week, a private Facebook group called Serendipitydodah for Moms sent Stephanie a letter of support signed by dozens of its 1,700 members. The group is made up of Christian moms of LGBT kids who love and support their children.

Stephanie’s reaction: “Oh my goodness!!!! I am crying all over again!!!! This is so beautiful.”

Then on Thursday, she shared a Facebook message from Timothy Rice, one of her older brothers.

It reads: “I want to thank you for becoming the leader of our family. You have changed my entire worldview, and you’ve inspired thousands all over the world. Because of you, we saw our hometown of Texarkana surprise the hell out of us.

“The community, country and the world cheered for you and your amazing talents. They also stepped forward to say what happened to you at 18 was wrong.

“What’s more, you got to perform live with Alicia Keys and sing with Celine Dion and Shania Twain. This was an incredible journey, sis. Now get ready for the next.”

Stephanie’s reaction: “This right here…I love you, brother! Thank you for your INCREDIBLE amount of support. I’m so proud to be your sister.”

Yep. the music was great. Heck, Stephanie hit number one on the rock chart in her final week on The Voice.

And I, for one, can’t wait to hear more of her originals.

But Stephanie’s right: The message mattered more.