The 24-year-old singer-songwriter turned two chairs at The Voice blind auditions on Monday night after singing What I Did For Love (a song by David Guetta featuring Emili Sande) and prompted a tug of war between brothers Joel and Benji Madden, in one corner, and Ronan Keating in the other.

She chose the Maddens and has now moved on to the next stage of the competition, the Battle Round.

Here, she will perform on stage with another member of Team Madden in a vocal stoush to stay in the competition.

And make no mistake. This girl can sing.

Howard was born in Queensland and spent her early teen years in Dubbo before moving to Newcastle in 2009 to attend the Hunter School of Performing Arts and further her singing career.

That was seven years ago, and Howard has called Newcastle home ever since.

"I was always running around the house singing, or singing while I was on the toilet," she told The Newcastle Herald with a laugh.

"I'd sing for hours and eventually, when I was 12, my mum kicked my bum and took me to singing lessons."

She chose Newcastle because it wasn't too far away from family in Dubbo, and it "wasn't too city".

"I'm used to the country life, and my horse could come with me. And I could afford to live in Newcastle," she explained.

Howard's voice is her living. She plays about five or six shows a week around the Hunter Valley, Newcastle and Sydney.

"I do a lot of function and corporate work and regular solo shows..." she said.

"At my solo shows I do a lot of covers by artists I love, ranging from Michael Jackson to Beyonce and all that jazz, but I perform them in my own acoustic, soul-country kind of vibe.

"I also sing a lot of my own songs, and am in the studio writing a new album at the moment."

Her first EP release, Secrets, is available on iTunes and Spotify. The new album is, she says, a mix of pop, folk, country and soul.

When she's not performing at local clubs and pubs, Howard likes to ride her horse, paddle board or chill out at the beach. She is a vocal coach and only decided to audition for The Voice after being approached by the show's producers, who had seen video footage of her singing.

"Yeah, they actually contacted me and asked if I would go on the show - I thought I may as well give it a go and so far it has been really, really fun," she said.

She knows life might get a little crazy after Monday night's performance but is taking it all in her stride - so far.

"Ronan and the Maddens turned around at the last minute and I was freaking out a bit," she laughed.

"It was a really hard decision to make with everyone in the audience yelling at you, and the two teams fighting over me.

"But I went with the Maddens because they were a bit more chilled about it all. Not quite so over the top."