“IT’S quite rare that I have nothing to say, but for a minute I was totally speechless!”

19-year-old Kai Benjamin (pictured) describes the moment after performing his blind audition on The Voice UK when he realised all four judges had spun their seats.

Kai, who’s from Gunnislake, had the celebrities’ attention captured with his take on Ariana Grande’s 7 Rings where he rapped in both Japanese and English.

“The Voice doesn’t have a lot of rappers and I felt like if I was watching the show it would be something fun and a bit different,” he explained.

“When all the judges turned I was in complete shock. I think I would have been more ready for no chairs to turn, than all four, that prospect didn’t even cross my mind. So when it did happen I had no words for how it felt, there was a minute when I was completely non-plussed. It’s quite rare that I have nothing to say!”

Anne-Marie was the first to turn and was the judge Kai chose after Will.i.am, Sir Tom Jones and Olly Murs also pitched for him.

“I’m more comfortable in my rapping than in my singing, so I wanted to be with a coach who’d help me develop my singing more,” he explained.

“I’m definitely going to be singing more, I’m trying to keep that blend of both.”

Kai, who attended Milton Abbott Primary School and Devonport High School for Boys, is in Bristol at the moment in his second year at university and doing as many shows as he can. After starting out at open mic nights, he gradually began to get bookings. He says going on The Voice was a bit of a curve ball.

“I was actually contacted by the show after I put out a video on TikTok,” he said. “Bizarrely I wasn’t using it very much and it didn’t get very many views, but someone saw it and got in touch.  The Voice wasn’t really part of the plan, but I thought I had nothing to lose and I am really grateful that I did now.”

Kai says he’s proud to represent both Cornwall and Japan as a rap artist.

“I love Cornwall but it’s not exactly rap central, there’s not much appetite for it. I chose Bristol specifically because it’s got more of a rap culture. It’s still not huge but there is definitely a scene and a community. I love being surrounded by like-minded people and it feels like a blank canvas.

“I’ve been here a year now and it’s been a year of planning and slow growth, and I feel like now I’m starting to put my name out there.”

Back at home, English and Japanese are interwoven in family life.

“I’m not fluent but I’ve been learning a little every day for the last few years,” says Kai.

“Mum swaps in and out of Japanese and English. I discovered it’s really nice that I use Japanese more affectionately, when mum and I are having conversations. I love listening to it as well, when mum’s chatting with her mates, it’s a lovely sound.

“Being Japanese is a huge part of who I am, although I’ve lived in the UK all my life, and I want to represent it as much as possible. When I was getting ready for The Voice it was like, well I’ve got this thing that I’m super, super proud of, how do I celebrate it? Incorporating the language was a way to do that.

“Also in terms of grime and rap – there’s not a lot of East Asian artists, there’s not a lot of Cornish artists either, so it’s representing on both fronts!”

Early influences for Kai were his dad’s records by bands like The Kinks and The Beatles; his way in to rap and grime was Stormzy’s Gang Signs and Prayers which he listened to aged around 11.

Kai’s younger brothers Kodai, 17, and Gen, 15, are also musicians and Kai says he hopes one day soon they’ll be collaborating professionally; they’ve already jammed together many times.

“We had a band in lockdown called Varied Heights because we were all different heights,” he says. “The name doesn’t really make sense now because they are both almost taller than me, which is a bit upsetting!”

There’s no doubt we’ll be hearing a lot more from Kai from now on: he’ll next be on our screens on The Voice in mid-October when the Battle Rounds begin. And he’s just launched a new project with  a friend, singer and guitarist Matt McKinnon.

The duo are creating songs with a jazz, hip hop feel under the name Lime Soda and plan to tour in Cornwall.

In the meantime, head to Kai’s Instagram (@kaib3nji) to follow and listen in to new music.