SUCCESS STORY: Karise Eden was crowned winner of The Voice on Monday night. Three years earlier local muso Kyle Jones was teaching her how to play guitar.
WHEN Karise Eden was named the first winner of Channel Nine’s hit singing contest The Voice on Monday night, the news didn’t come as a massive shock for one Griffith man.
Kyle Jones always knew the gravel-voiced singing sensation was in with a good chance.
He first heard her unique sound when she came to him for guitar lessons around three years ago while he was living on the central coast.
“The lady I used to work for is her foster mum,” he said.
“I taught about 65 students full-time and she was looking for someone to teach her how to play guitar. She could definitely sing, but I was teaching her how to sing and play at the same time, which she can obviously do now.
“Karise was a fun kid to teach because unlike most girls she wasn’t interested in learning Katy Perry songs.
“Due to her unfortunate home life there wasn’t much money, so typically the management would foot the bill or often it would be free, which happened for a handful of kids passing through the school.”
While a reported 3.23 million people tuned in for the finale of the singing contest, Mr Jones admits he wasn’t the show’s biggest follower.
“I’m not really a fan of those kinds of shows so I didn’t watch much of it,” he said.
“I mainly just watched Karise’s performances on the net.
“Hopefully this little kick gets her back into more of a normal life, although I might have to send her a bill now.”