“I'm actually taking her to an appointment right now,” Faith tells us when asked about her mum.
“She was sick when I was younger as well,” the Ipswich local says. “My siblings got older and had their families and so I got older and, then when I was 19, I started to care for her. I had to break ‘cause obviously I don't get paid for being a carer; so I had to go work for two years and then I came back again and looked after her again.”
Watching Faith dominate the Voice stage was a special moment for her mum, who was equal parts nervous and eager for her daughter.
“She was so excited that I could finally do something for myself and something that I love to do,” Faith tells New Idea. “I think she was proud of me, and I know she was hoping one chair would turn. They didn't get on camera her staring at the chairs, not my performance.”
It was Faith’s mum who first noticed her singing ability when she was about six or seven years old. While hanging out washing, a melodic sound befell her ears, instantly prompting her to investigate its origins.
“She ran and said: ‘Who was that?’ And my other siblings were like: ‘It was Faith’. And she was like: ‘Well then, you can now be in the choir’. That’s where it all started.”
With a similar eagerness, Faith’s mum shared the news that her daughter would be auditioning for The Voice, despite the talent herself refraining from telling anyone.
“I told no one, but my mom told everyone. And I was like: ‘Mum, you need to stop. What if I don’t make it?’ She was like: ‘No, you will’. I even had to tell her little white lies like: ‘Mum, the producers found out you told and they’re really mad’. It still didn't work.”
Luckily for Faith, the 24-year-old received four chair turns and had her pick of the celebrity litter when it came to selecting a coach. In the end, she chose Jessica Mauboy to coach her through the competition, with the Sapphires star even giving her the first battle pass of the season.
The singer calls both the advantage and working with Jess a “blessing”.
“She’s amazing,” the reality star gushes of the Can I Get A Moment singer. “She is so down-to-earth; so humble. It's so easy to work with her. She just has so much compassion and she was so ready to teach me to enhance my performance and vocal abilities.”
Generous with her advice, Jess has already shared plenty of wisdom with the budding star, including the importance of being “confident in (her) gift”.
“And to not let any negative critique or just the bad things that I have in my mind overtake what I have,” Faith adds.
