THE VOICE of Ireland returned with a bang on Sunday night, and one Wexford woman made sure to make an impression during her blind audition.

The fourth series of the RTE show came back with with two brand new coaches, popstars Una Foden and Rachel Stevens, putting the pressure on show stalwarts Bressie and Kian.

Among those who caused the judges to spin around in their famous big red chairs was last to perform Sasha Sangari Smith (23) from Wexford.

Sasha, who is orginally from Dublin but has grown up in Wexford with her Mum, brother and sister, caught both Rachel and Kian’s attention with a rock cover of Ellie Goulding’s Burn but chose to join the Westlife star’s team.

The singer has plenty of experience on stage as she was in You’re A Star at the young age of 16 and has been a dancer for ten years.

Sasha is in a band (Alice Can’t Turn Left) and has done a mini-tour around the country, writing her own songs and performing them at the gigs.

She describes her vocal style as ranging from alternative rock to pop to jazz, and says she becomes a “different person on stage”.

Following her audition success, Sasha revealed that being one of the first to make it through has helped to build up her confidence levels after suffering from depression for years.

Speaking after Sunday night’s show, she said: “I really didn’t think anything would come of it and when they both turned for me, I was so shocked. I wasn’t expecting that at all.

Full story in this week’s Echo.