Kiwi mum Nyree 'THIS IS MY LAST SHOT!'

The Christchurch singer almost gave up her musical dreams for her kids

- Debbie Harrison, Penny Lewis, Lucy Croke

After putting her musical ambitions on hold to become a mother, Kiwi singer Nyree Huyser now hopes The Voice Australia will be the big break she's spent her life looking for.

The Christchurch mum, 37, has been singing almost since she learnt to speak. Her mum has recordings of her baby voice warbling Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me) at just two years old.

"I've always loved singing" Nyree tells Woman's Day. "I grew up in Scotland and distinctly remember sitting in my dad's work van when I was nine, asking, 'Do you think I sound like Kylie Minogue?' before belting out one of her songs. He looked at me surprised and said, 'You're actually quite good! With that nod of approval, I was off, doing all the shows at school."

Despite her passion for singing, Nyree wasn't convinced music was a viable career, so she studied law. "Against my mum's wishes," she laughs. "She was convinced I could make it and tried to push me into music, but I didn't believe her. I wish I had!"

Instead, Nyree studied by day and sang by night, paying her university fees by performing in an Abba tribute band. But three years into her four-year degree, she realised her true passion was for music, so she completed her studies but never practised law.

"You should do what makes whereas I'd just you feel alive, done law because my grades were good enough," shares Nyree, who went on to tour Europe as a tribute act for Beyoncé, Céline Dion and Jessie J. Then she met her future husband, a Kiwi bloke called Carl.

"He had a contract to play cricket in Scotland," recalls Nyree. "I met him at a friend's birthday party and we started a summer romance, knowing he was always going home and that would be that."