The Voice contestant, 16, shares devastating story about mother’s mental illness

A 16-year-old contestant on The Voice has made an emotional impression on the judges after revealing the inspiration behind her song choice.

A teenage singer on The Voice has elicited an emotional response from the coaches after sharing the heartbreaking tale of her childhood.

Sunrise Michelle, 16, from the Central Coast, sang a gentle yet gut wrenching rendition of Birdie’s People Help The People, prompting instant button pushes from Jess Mauboy and Rita Ora.

Explaining her song choice to Mauboy, who was visibly moved by the performance, the softly-spoken teen fought back tears as she described being “lifted out” of an unsafe home life by her grandparents.

Sunshine said the song was inspired by her grandparents. Picture: Channel 7.

“You honestly got me all choked up, just watching you sing that,” Mauboy began.

“I could hear you and I was so intrigued and curious … What were you singing about?,” she asked.

“I live with my lovely grandparents,” Sunshine responded.

“And the song is about how they helped my little sister and I out of a not so good life living with my mother, who struggled with mental health.

“People Help The People, it’s about how them, and all the people who recognised that we weren’t safe, lifted us out of there and gave us to our grandparents.”

Mauboy was moved by the emotional performance. Picture: Channel 7.

Mauboy, close to tears herself, praised the teen for opening up about her difficult journey.

“You coming out here, and sharing your story, will touch so many people out there,” she said, her voice quavering.

“There’s so many people out there just like you too. And I just want you to know that you’re super brave and you’re super special, and I'm just so glad that you found this space in music to be able to reach those corners that feel dark, and that feel maybe unbalanced. I'm so proud of you, and I'm so excited for you,” she said.

Agreeing with the sentiment, Rita added of Sunrise’s singing talent: “What you did just now is an example of not having to scream from the rooftops and still getting all our attention and doing it with poise and grace.”

Sunshine ultimately chose team Jess after the popstar’s heartfelt pitch.

Rita and Jess praised Sunshine’s “brave” performance.

Before her blind audition, Sunshine had described taking care of her little sister while their mother was unwell, which sometimes involved stealing food — a part of her past she “hated”.

“My mum … She's a lovely person, I love her very much. I haven’t seen her in a while.

“She had some mental health issues. Her personality disorders and depressions got a lot more worse under the influence of drugs and I had to try and be the mum of the family.

“I was always trying to wake up, get my sister to school. We had to steal to get food, that’s what really upsets me the most … I hated that

Eventually, Sunshine and her sister were placed in the care of their grandparents, with whom they have been living for the past few years.

“The start of year 6 is when I moved in with my grandparents. Now I have so many opportunities, and I go to school every day, and I don’t have to worry about what’s for breakfast or what's for dinner.”