Modern Music

contributed photo Sweetwater High School graduate Tje Austin is a contestant on the NBC singing competition show, “The Voice.”

Sweetwater’s Cindie and Jimmie Alldredge held their breath.

Their 27-year-old son, Tje (pronounced TYE) Austin, was about to sing for a quartet of famous judges as part of the NBC singing competition “The Voice.”

If he nailed this audition, his fledgling music career would get a major boost.

If he fell short, he’d leave with nothing to show for the trip.

The Alldredges got to watch it all live via short-circuit TV, in the same L.A. studio where Austin was auditioning. They had never seen their son perform before.

Austin had to convince at least one of the four judges that he has the vocal chops to make it on the competition show.

The judges sat facing away from hopefuls, and slapped a button if the singer’s voice caught their ear.

As Austin launched into the Bruno Mars hit “Just the Way You Are,” no one was biting.

Cindie Alldredge stood in the little studio side room with her husband, clutching her hands. “It was very tense,” she said.

Then Austin hit the song’s second big high note. Judges Cee Lo Green and Adam Levine both smacked their buttons at the same time.

The Alldredges lost it. When their son came back in the room, it was his dad who rushed him and lifted him off the floor in a big bear hug.

“He was crying, he was so proud of Tje,” Cindie Alldredge said. “And he’s a big ol’ crusty Marine.”

The Alldredges adopted Austin when he was 4 days old, making him part of a big Mormon family.

The latest episode of “The Voice” airs tonight at 9 p.m. on NBC.

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