TISHOMINGO, Okla. (KTEN) -- Ada native Emily Rhyne recently took the big stage auditioning for the premiere of the 23rd season of "The Voice."

"I learned a lot. I got to work with a vocal coach and a band," Rhyne said. "I got to really see how everything was pulled off."

Emily Rhyne's journey as a musician and songwriter began at a young age, learning vocal skills and stage presence from her mother, and playing the guitar from her grandfather, Ernie Dunlap.

When Rhyne felt the time was right to expand her boundaries, she took the chance to show it on "The Voice."

"Being able to stand up there -- regardless or not if I got the chair turn -- and say, 'Hey Blake! I'm from Ada. I play at your restaurant!' That meant so much to me to be able to do that," she said.

 

Rhyne didn't get a chair turn from the judges, but she took her experiences back to Texoma, performing throughout the region, including the venue that gave her her first shot, Ole Red in Tishomingo.

"They're huge shadows that she's been under. 'Well, that's Kelly's daughter,' or, 'that's Ernie's granddaughter,'" said Carol Dunlap, Rhyne's mom. "She was able to step out from under that and go, 'No, I'm Emily Rhyne, and I'm here, and I'm a musician. I may be third generation, but let me show you who I am."

As Rhyne continues to pursue her career, it's become a theme of never giving up.

"I'm not quite sure what's next right now. I've always told myself 'no' is just another opportunity we haven't gotten to yet," she said. "I'm used to no's. I'm used to setbacks, and it just makes me work harder."

Although Emily Rhyne's journey on "The Voice" didn't pan out, she says: "You haven't seen the last of me."