Koryn Hawthorne's soulful voice has captivated America and kept her near the top of 'The Voice' voter rankings, week after week; but to her hometown audience, she has always been a star in the making. Koryn Hawthorne has now joined the elite ranks of the final five remaining on the singing contest. On the episode that aired on Wednesday, May 5th, 'The Voice' welcomed its five top contestants back to their individual hometowns.The contestants each received a warm welcome from their respective birthplaces, and no place was more excited than Abbeville, Louisiana.

Hawthorne, now seventeen, is a pastor's daughter from Abbeville. She has been singing in her church and in her small Christian school of 90 students since she was a child. So while her signature poise and remarkable composure are quite rare in most high school juniors, sources close to her say she has been preparing for this moment for years.

"The overseer of our church had spoken a word to her and said her talent was something that was going to be seen by the world," said Tiffany Spraggins, who is Koryn's second cousin as well as her school's principal. Spraggins went on, "We've always looked for this in Koryn. We believed it because God spoke that into her life. We knew that it was something that was given to her."

According to her official 'The Voice' bio, Hawthorne has been performing in a group that sings at nursing homes and benefit concerts for the past nine years. The singer has drawn comparisons to Beyonce, and performed "How Great Thou Art" on the April 6th live playoff round of the show.

Her lifelong friends are not the only ones to see something special in this young contestant. Hawthorne originally won over two coaches, Christina Aguilera and Pharrell Williams, with her blind audition. It was an impressive rendition of "My Kind of Love," that had Pharrell commenting, "That was awesome, but you're not cocky. You stand there with humility, and people will line up to see that for the rest of your life."

Ultimately, Hawthorne decided to go with Aguilera as her coach. She later ended up on Team Pharrell, anyway, after being "stolen" in a "Knockout round" against another contestant, Kimberly Nichole.

The young star in the making frequently addresses her fans from her Instagram account and her Twitter, @korynhawthorne, where she encourages fans to vote and proclaims that "God gets the glory" and she is "#teamJesus." In one tweet, she said, "God is truly amazing and I can only thank Him for these special moments."

Whatever the outcome on the show, Christian music fans everywhere will not soon forget the big voice of this talented young artist.

Semifinals for 'The Voice' begin airing this Monday on NBC at 8/7c.