Friends of Galloway Township’s Mara Justine are rooting for her on ‘The Voice’

After four previous rounds of competition, Justine, 21, has her fans nationwide, but no one will be rooting for her more than the people in Atlantic County and the surrounding areas who know her personally or who have already seen her perform live.

Calista Quinn, of Little Egg Harbor Township, and Justine met about 10 years ago as students of Linwood-based vocal coach Sal Dupree, owner of Dupree Performing Arts.

Quinn and Justine have worked together. Together with Dupree, they sang at Melissa Marshall’s No You Cant’cer Foundation fundraiser in 2018 at Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City.

“She is emotional, nice and sweet, an empathic person,” Quinn said. “We have a music-based friendship. I root for her in all aspects.”

Quinn’s and Justine’s families used to have dinner together where they sang karaoke, Quinn said. During Quinn’s “Not So Sweet 16,” she and Justine sang the hit “Lady Marmalade,” which was made famous by Labelle in 1974 and covered by Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya and Pink in 2001.

Quinn sees Justine from time to time. The last time, they had amazing Italian food at Carluccio’s Coal Fired Pizza in Northfield and visited Dupree, she said.

“She is such a kind-hearted, genuine person, a beautiful person inside and out. She doesn’t have a bad bone in her body. I hope she wins,” said Quinn, 21. “I think Mara is a great person. She has inspired a lot of people. What you see on the show is what you get. … She deserves all the success she is getting.”

Dr. Bill Lewis, who is retired as the chief of surgery at Lankenau Medical Center in Wynnewood, Pennsylvania, played the mayor and was an executive producer on the 2010 movie “Standing Ovation,” where he crossed paths with Dupree, who was the music supervisor for the film that was shot in Cape May, Wildwood and Ocean City.

Lewis met Justine through Dupree. She did at least a couple of charity events at the hospital. Lewis had her and Dupree sing at his 50th wedding celebration in August 2019 at Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pennsylvania.

Lewis, 78, remembers Justine singing with Dupree and doing “The Voice” coach John Legend hit “All of Me” in a duet with singer/actor Dexter Darden, who appeared in the “Maze Runner” films. She also sang a Whitney Houston song by herself.

“Few singers become the song. Mara is that way with music. She has it. When she sings, you get goosebumps,” Lewis said. “She can sing anything — country, rock, ballads and, as one coach said, ‘She can even sing the phone book.'”

Chip Garrison, who has been the drama director at Absegami High School in Galloway Township for 34 years, said it is rare that a freshman is good enough to land a part in the school’s musicals, but that’s what happened with Justine.

As an Absegami freshman, Justine was in the musicals “Mary Poppins” and “You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown,” and she was in the musical “Jesus Christ Superstar” and the drama “You Can’t Take It with You” before she graduated from the high school in 2020.

“I’m so proud. She’s a great talent,” Garrison said. “She’s very hard working, humble. She was a normal, typical high school kid even though she had already been on ‘America’s Got Talent.'”

Besides “America’s Got Talent,” Justine appeared on “American Idol” at age 16 in 2018 and made it into the top 14.

Justine sang at JD’s Pub & Grille in Galloway at least twice in the past few years after appearing on “American Idol,” said Todd Storr, one of the partners at JD’s.

When Justine appears at JD’s, she can fill the 175-seat restaurant, and some people will just stand to listen to her sing, Storr said. At JD’s, she doesn’t have a band, but she will walk with a wireless microphone and sing to customers at their tables, he said. Some of his 25 TVs were going to be set to “The Voice” on Monday even though that would compete with “Monday Night Football,” he said.

“She has done an incredible job for us. … She brings out a great crowd,” Storr said, adding she is a lovely girl. “I hope she gets famous, but not too famous.”

Justine impressed Joe Crilley, general manager of The Cove in Brigantine, so much that he hired her to do a residency there every Thursday during the summer of 2022. She also performed at his place twice in the past five weeks after “The Voice” started airing.

Justine is upbeat and positive, but she is also an old soul, Crilley said.

“She is the sweetest young lady I’ve ever run across,” Crilley said. “If she is lucky and gets the right people behind her, she will be a superstar.”

Justine was one of 12 singers to perform live for the first time in front of coaches Legend, Niall Horan, Reba McEntire and Gwen Stefani for a chance at a spot in the live semifinal. Viewers were to have the chance to vote for their favorite artist overnight.

“The Voice” airs from 8 to 10 p.m. Monday on WCAU-TV 10, out of Philadelphia. A Monday recap will air from 8 to 9 p.m. Tuesday. The voting results from the top 12 live performances will be revealed at 9 p.m. Tuesday. Eight artists are voted through. Four will perform for the instant save. Only nine artists can continue on to the live semifinal, starting Dec. 11.

The finale live results show kicks off at 9 p.m. Dec. 19. One artist will be named “The Voice” for season 24 and receive the grand prize of a recording contract.