WATCH: N.J. nurse blows 'The Voice' judges away, duets with Alicia Keys

When "The Voice" saved the best for last in its Monday night premiere, it happened to be an immensely talented singer from New Jersey.  Felicia Temple, a 28-year-old nurse at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, blew the judges away with her soaring...

WATCH: N.J. nurse blows 'The Voice' judges away, duets with Alicia Keys

When "The Voice" saved the best for last in its Monday night premiere, it happened to be an immensely talented singer from New Jersey. 

Felicia Temple, a 28-year-old nurse at Holy Name Medical Center in Teaneck, blew the judges away with her soaring rendition of "All I Could Do Was Cry," the classic 1960 ballad by Etta James.

Alicia Keys was the first to turn her chair for Temple, a match made in music heaven -- Temple used to go by the nickname "Felicia Keys" due to how often she covered the songstress. Fellow judges Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani both turned around a minute later, while Adam Levine chose not to hit his button. 

Upon completion, Keys gave Temple a standing ovation and when Temple revealed her love for Keys' music, Keys joined her on stage for a banner duet of her breakthrough hit "Fallin.'" 

"This is surreal, like, I'm a preoperative nurse," Temple exclaimed.

As is often the case with "Voice" contestants, Temple has a compelling backstory; she is a nurse, a cancer survivor and a descendent of hip-hop royalty to boot -- she's related to a member of pioneers The Sugar Hill Gang, she said, though it wasn't made clear which emcee. 

Naturally, Temple chose Keys as her coach and will surely be a contender this season. A new episode of "The Voice" airs Tuesday night on NBC. 

Temple has released two R&B and soul-centric EP on her website, called "Bedroom Chronicles" and "To Whom It May Concern."  

Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook. 

 

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