Macon's Molly Stevens picks Kelly Clarkson as vocal coach on 'The Voice'

Kelly Clarkson said she was looking for a voice that could move her soul.

Then, Molly Stevens, a Macon-made musician, took the stage.

Stevens sang fewer than 10 words of "Heavenly Day" by Patty Griffin when Blake Shelton snapped his chair around to face her.

Clarkson, a three-time Grammy winner made famous from a similar show, followed.

"It felt good here," Clarkson said, hand over heart after Stevens' blind audition, which aired Tuesday night on NBC's "The Voice.

"It looks like you're just sinking your teeth into this song," Shelton said. "My life is country music. I'm country and I'm proud of it and that's all I do."

While judges Alicia Keys and Adam Levine watched, Shelton and Clarkson each vied for Stevens to select them as her vocal coach.

Stevens picked Clarkson.

The 35-year-old musician grew up singing in church and became a regular act at Bragg Jam, Macon's annual concert crawl.

In a biographical snapshot before the performance, Stevens reflected on being gay and growing up in Macon.

“Being a Southern Baptist, I thought that was a big sin and that I was going to go to hell for it,” she said. "Coming out to my parents was tough. I don't think they knew how to take it."

Her parents and her fiancee were at the audition supporting her.

"I'm trying to get my break, honestly," Stevens said.

Deborah, Stevens' mother, said her daughter is "finally getting some recognition that she very much deserved."

This story was originally published February 27, 2018 at 9:27 PM with the headline "Macon's Molly Stevens picks Kelly Clarkson as vocal coach on 'The Voice'."