Will Indian-American Sharon Mathai be "The Voice" of America?

Washington, March 30 (IANS) An 18-year-old Indian American singer, whose parents hail from Kerala, could well emerge as America's new singing sensation after making the top 24 on NBC's reality singing show "The Voice"

Sharon Mathai, a self-proclaimed brainiac and science expert who is a pre-med student, sang "Rumor Has It" by Adele for her blind audition in Season 2 of the contest that starts airing live April 2.

In Monday's episode, the New York born adventurous, skydiving singer from Dallas, Texas, who goes by her last name on the show, battled with fellow singer Nicolle Galyon, covering "Love Song" by Sara Bareilles.

The two took turns singing parts of the verses and chorus, and their celebrity coach Adam Levine was tasked with picking just one woman to advance onto next week's show.

In the end, Levine picked Mathai to move on to the upcoming live shows. The live rounds begin April 2, when audiences will for the first time this season get to vote for their favourite contestants.

Joining Mathai on Levine's team are Karla Davis, Katrina Parker, Kim Yarbrough, Pip, and Tony Lucca.

Before auditioning for Season 2 of The Voice, Mathai, whose father is a psychiatrist and mother a nurse, both from Kerala, India had tried out for "The Glee Project", and made the Top 24.

In the same episode, the three other celebrity coaches Christina Aguilera, Cee Lo Green and Blake Shelton finished out their teams of six each.

The series consists of three phases: a blind audition, a battle phase, and live performance shows. Four judges/coaches, all noteworthy recording artists, choose teams of contestants through a blind audition process.

(Arun Kumar can be contacted at arun.kumar@ians.in)