A dramatic version of Journey's "Open Arms" earned Twin Cities club vet Kat Perkins a warm embrace from her coach Adam Levine at just the right moment to advance in the playoffs round on NBC's "The Voice."

The so-called "singing nanny" -- who left a job working for an Edina family of five children to be on the show -- was picked by Levine as one of three out of five Team Adam members to advance from Monday night's show. Her version of the 1981 power ballad is now available as an iTunes download.

Known to local metal fans from her days fronting Scarlet Haze, the Scranton, N.D., native was the last of the three selected from Levine's team in the episode's tense closing moments. She was thus given a chance to make a final kiss-up comment to the Maroon 5 singer and said, "You believed in me from the get-go. That means the world to me."

After her performance, Perkins, 33, earned praise from all four of the team coaches/judges. Usher told her, "You should be very, very proud of yourself." Shakira added, "You're so good with those big notes." As for Levine, he said, "There has not been a better performance than this one."

Perkins will perform as one of 12 contestants to advance to the live rounds starting next week.