by Rebecca Hughes

Singer Kirsten Joy says she will be watching her television through half-closed eyes tonight when it's announced if she's made it through to the final of the hit TV show The Voice.

The 25-year-old, a former pupil of Rochester Grammar School, will see herself singing for survival in stage two of the BBC1 show, which is searching for the UK's next great singer.

She was one of only 40 contestants to make it through the first stage, which saw hopefuls sing to four A-list coaches who listen without seeing the performer.

If they liked what they heard, they pressed a buzzer to turn round and see who they picked.

Kirsten, from Walderslade, was sent through to the next round by Price Tag singer Jessie J who pushed her button with just seconds to go.

Now all acts will be whittled down to 20 finalists during the battles stage when two acts go head to head and perform the same song at the same time.

To prepare for the next stage, Kirsten spent two days working with her celebrity mentor to improve her vocal ability and learn the secrets to success.
She said: "It was a real privilege to work with Jessie J and I have a lot of respect for her. She is an amazing vocalist so she had a lot of advice to give. Out of all the mentors there she was the one I wanted to turn around."

The Voice judges Jessie J, Danny O’Donoghue, will.i.am and Tom Jones Picture: BBC

But Kirsten admits the challenge was difficult.

"The song I was given for the battle was one I didn't know it and it's really different when you only sing parts of the song and split it up, alongside being filmed, but this show has been a great platform for myself as a solo artist," she said.

"It has been mentally challenging, but it has also been really cool and I'm looking forward to everyone seeing the battles round - I'm going to be watching it through squinted eyes!"

Kirsten will feature in the pre-recorded show, which also features Sir Tom Jones, will.i.am and the Script's Danny O'Donoghue as celebrity mentors, on BBC1 tonight.