San Antonio's own Rudi Gutierrez shines on 'The Voice': From auto shop to Gwen Stefani's team

SAN ANTONIO - A local contestant on The Voice is making her way through the knockout round of the competition.

Rudi Gutierrez got a four-chair turn before joining Team Gwen Stefani. We caught up with Rudi at her family's auto shop to find out how the competition is changing her life.

"I think San Antonio is all about culture and it's such a tight close-knit community," Gutierrez said.

Before the lights, the outfits, the chair turns, and the moments on national TV, Rudi Gutierrez was just a San Antonio kid.

Her family says that singing is an inherited talent and has been singing since the age of two. She even sang her first song on stage at that age.

Her family believes that she is her grandpa reincarnated.

"I wish I could have met him but I see videos of him and singing and it's just it's the coolest thing." shared Gutierrez. "I love singing Spanish music and I love representing that side of me. It's a moment that was literally tattooed on me because that is me and my grandma."

Like many artists, she moved to Los Angeles.

"It's been 20 years of hustling just in general and I was not getting burnt out but I was kind of just like losing inspiration." shared Rudi.

She came back home to San Antonio to where her family's auto shop lives, 911 Auto Centers.

"I tried working in here for a little bit trying to be happy, but I want this - I'm happiest when I'm on stage. That is my home," said Rudi Gutierrez.

Rudi just found herself in a rut. She shares that she got an email for the voice and auditioned but didn't tell anyone.

Multiple auditions over ten or so months, one of around 100,000 applicants to the Voice.

"When you sign up for something, you don't know what you're signing up for. Really, you know, it's The Voice - you see it on TV, but you don't know how it's actually going to be when you're in it," said Gutierrez.

She says it's better than she imagined. So is working with her childhood icon - Gwen Stefani. "That's part of why it's better than I could have expected because she's actually just like the coolest human being ever," Rudi says.

RELATED | San Antonio's Rudi Gutierrez moves to the next round on 'The Voice'

Rudi already feels like she won and shares that she has big plans for her future.

"Just being able to go out and tour and sing my own songs and let people in on who Rudi is because I'm a songwriter too." shared Rudi.

Rudi says if you want to watch her this week in the knockout round, plan to watch here.