Mason native Rebecca Brunner is no longer competing on "The Voice," but she's excited about the future and kicking off her singing career.

"It's all about putting yourself out there," she said. "I wouldn't go into this industry if I didn't believe in myself."

RELATED:'The Voice' audition 'craziest moment' of Rebecca Brunner's life

During a phone interview with the State Journal last week, Brunner, who lives in Chicago, was preparing for a gig halfway across the country in Enumclaw, Washington.

She performed at Ranier Hills Young Life, a Christian youth organization. Her set list included "Believer" by Imagine Dragons.

It was a fitting selection, the song that helped Brunner, 22, secure a spot on Team Blake and survive the fifth round of blind auditions.

In between booking gigs and recording new material for an upcoming EP, Brunner is busy shopping for a publicist. She plans to continue to market herself as a pop-soul singer.

"Blake taught us how important it is to be confident and be true to yourself," she said.

Which Brunner is, said guitarist Quinn Cochran, who met her while they were both studying music at Columbia College Chicago. They've done "a bunch of gigs" together over the past four years.

"She's versatile, so she can sing any style, but she doesn't conform," he said. "For example, she can cover an Alicia Keys or Justin Bieber song, but she still sounds like Rebecca."

In 2014, Brunner performed at the annual Phil Denny and Friends Christmas Collective concert in Lansing.

"She had a level of passion you don't always see in young performers," said Denny, a saxophonist and smooth jazz musician.

Brunner led the El-Shabazz Academy choir during a cover of Mariah Carey's "All I Want for Christmas Is You," which she "absolutely nailed," he said.

"The Voice" battle rounds didn't go quite so well. Brunner squared off against former NFL player Esera Tuaolo. Not much of the performance was aired, but Brunner was eliminated during the episode.

"I felt numb because you get so worked up for that moment," she said, adding that the song choice "wasn't ideal."

"I'm more of a pop-soul singer."

She described the battle rounds as "good for television, but terrible" for the contestants because "you don't want to out-sing the other person, but you want to win really badly."

"You do your best to blend your voices together," she added.

Despite Brunner's early departure, exposure to a national audience is no small thing.

Michigan State University alum Joshua Davis wowed "The Voice" judges during the show's eighth season. He worked closely with Maroon 5’s frontman Adam Levine and quickly emerged as a favorite among viewers and finished in third place.

Davis now plays to audiences in New York and Los Angeles and in Michigan, too. Over the summer, he put out a full album titled, "The Way Back Home."

MORE: Joshua Davis talks 'The Voice' one year later

Brunner says the exposure from "The Voice" definitely helped her to gain fans.

"I don't think the battle song helped you out much, I hear other music in your voice," James Thomas wrote on Twitter from Buenos Aires, Argentina. "Your power in 'Believer' was amazing, so rare a girl can sing with that attitude. You're my female (Axl) Rose.Never give up!"

Ben Diaz, owner of Diaz School of Piano in Okemos, was Brunner's piano instructor from the time she was around seven years old through her senior year of high school. He was one of the many folks who attended Brunner's watch party when her blind audition aired.

"Rebecca is the kind of person you want to root for," he said. "She demands your attention when she's on stage, but there's no arrogance about her."

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Within the next year, Brunner plans to relocate to Los Angeles or Nashville.

Denny's advice?

"Stay visible," he said, "but proceed with caution because there are a lot of people trying to take advantage of these artists who are on the verge of success."

The journey to stardom is hardly a sure bet, but the best part about chasing after a dream?

"Having your family, friends and hometown rooting for you," Brunner said, "no matter what."

Contact Princess Gabbara at pgabbara@lsj.com or (517) 377-1006. Follow her on Twitter at @PrincessGabbara.

Watch

Season 13 of "The Voice" airs Mondays and Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on WILX.