JOHN Lingard has won his way into the live rounds on The Voice.
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The Bendigo singer-songwriter's rendition of Death Cab for Cutie's I Will Follow You Into The Dark was good enough to beat out fellow contestants Lionel Cole and Candice Skjonnemand.
Australian Karaoke Champion Skjonnemand sang Katie Perry's Unconditionally while American Cole sang Georgia On My Mind, a song made famous by Ray Charles.
After working with Kylie Minogue and INXS band member Kirk Pengilly, Lingard looked comfortable on stage despite Candice and Lionel's strong stage presence in their performances.
Minogue said Lingard's performances was really special and gave her goosebumps.
Lingard said he was happy to have his guitar back in hands for the performance and it showed.
"I think had more control over the situation," he said.
"(Last week's) battle was a bit out of my control, this week I felt more in my element."
Lingard said the Death Cab for Cutie song was a bit of a risk because his Kylie was unfamiliar with the song.
"Kylie didn't know it but I remember saying I don’t have the biggest voice and I can't do vocal gymnastic (like other contestants)," he said.
"The thing for me is connection with the song."
Lingard will now prepare for the The Voice's live shows where the viewers vote to keep or eliminate contestants.
"From here we will have mentoring sessions and work on preparing for the live shows," Lingard said.
"I'm not relying on connecting with Kylie, I have to connect with the whole of Australia.
"It is the moment that defines whether I have connected with Australia as well as Kylie."
But regardless of results, Lingard knows he has a lot of family and friends supporting him.
"I've got my family around me and a lot of friends believe in what I'm doing," he said.
"Bendigo is a really supportive community and hopefully it continues to be. I'm sure it will because even though Bendigo is a big city it is also a close-knit community."