Last night, The Voice shared the audition they had insisted would blow our minds and fans sat edge of seat waiting to see whether Jess Berney would deliver as the can’t-miss-audition of this year’s series of The Voice Australia. Now, with the episode said and done, the question is; was it really all it’s been hyped to be?
Far from what one would expect of a 24-year-old, Jess Berney took the stage to sing Pie Jesu, a piece arranged by composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and most famously performed by soprano Sarah Brightman.
The judges, who have become accustomed to hearing the same reel of pop tunes coming from the stage, were clearly surprised, and even took a little time to warm to Jess’ voice with Joel Madden peering over to Kylie to ask, “Is that a girl or a boy?” to which Kylie responded, “It’s a girl”.
But it wasn’t too long until all four judges turned their chairs to find a mohawked woman who appeared far more suited to a major rock track than the angelic opera she had just performed.
As it turns out, 24-year-old Jess, who heralds from Adelaide, is the daughter of a church minister and had to come out as a lesbian to her highly religious parents, something she called, “the bravest thing I’ve done”.
With all these pieces of the puzzle shaping up to form one incredible The Voice journey, it’s no wonder the judges were competing to have her on their team. When asked what he say for her, Will.i.am told Jess; “I have the ability to get you through any obstacle. I want to help you become a star. I want to pull out all the best parts of you and put them on display for everyone in Australia to see, so they see the very best of you.”
But it was Ricky Martin’s simple pitch; “Next time I see you onstage, I want to see you do something completely different. You look like Team Ricky! It’s like, you’re Team Ricky!” that secured a spot.
While the judges were clearly blown away, social media was divided. While the majority of Tweets heaped praise upon the star, others said the performance had been over-hyped.
Only time will tell whether Jess will, as so many have predicted, become Australia’s own Susan Boyle.
Miss the show last night? Watch the performance below…
