'The Voice': Reba McEntire loses 4-chair singer after sabotaging John Legend with block
John Legend’s reign on “The Voice” has the Queen of Country resorting to some unregal measures.
Legend and coach Reba McEntire, alongside fellow coaches Niall Horan and Gwen Stefani, battled for singer Lila Forde during the fifth round of blind auditions Monday night. The Seattle vocalist scored a four-chair turn with her bluesy tone and piano-driven rendition of “Can’t Find My Way Home” by Blind Faith.
Stefani was so moved by the 24-year-old singer’s “beautiful” performance that she removed her shoes and walked down the stage for her pitch. “This is what the world needs. We want a singer-songwriter with a true point of view that’s original, unique (and) that’s not trying to be like anyone else,” Stefani told Forde. “You’re my dream ‘Voice’ girl to work with.”
Meanwhile, Legend was impressed by Forde’s vocal maturity. “What I heard was wisdom. You understood everything you were saying,” he said. “But everything felt completely under your control.”
In the end, Forde selected Legend as her coach. The victory prompted McEntire to express regret for not using her block button on the self-proclaimed “four-chair king.”
“I was going to wait, but John is on a roll,” McEntire said afterward. “We’ve got to block John.”
Here’s what else went down on Monday’s episode.
John Legend wants to help Bobby Womack’s niece JaRae ‘fulfill her purpose’
Singer JaRae Womack captivated the coaches with her haunting performance of Amy Winehouse’s “Back to Black,” earning the Florida vocalist a four-chair turn.
“On big songs like this with such character voices, people tend to try and follow whoever that artist may be,” Horan said. “You completely made it your own.”
Determined to get Womack on his team, Horan knelt on the stage to convey his passion to coach the 35-year-old singer, who is the granddaughter of R&B singer-songwriter Cecil Womack and niece of Grammy-nominated singer Bobby Womack.
Vocal prowess aside, Legend praised Womack for her sincere emotional delivery.
“There’s something about soul that’s genre-less. And I actually couldn’t tell if you were a soul singer necessarily, but I could tell you were a soulful singer, which means something about it is authentic and true and passionate,” Legend said. “I was just feeling the drama and the energy you were emitting from the stage.”
Legend clearly made a soul connection with Womack, as she chose to join Team Legend.
“She has such a powerful, unique voice,” Legend said of Womack. “You can tell she feels a sense of purpose being on the stage, and I want to help her fulfill her purpose.”
Reba McEntire’s block on John Legend backfires with Brandon Montel
Going against Team Legend comes with some bad karma.
The coaches unanimously turned their chairs for singer Brandon Montel, who stunned with his emotional cover of “Hard Place” by H.E.R. However, Legend found himself in a tough spot when McEntire hit her block button, preventing Legend from pitching to the Tennessee vocalist.
“Most of the time she’s a benevolent queen, but every once in a while she’ll do some ruthless, cold-blooded (and) dirty things,” Legend said. “If Reba messes up and there’s a steal opportunity, I will be first in line.”
McEntire had no regrets about pulling out all the stops for Montel, whose stage presence enchanted the country icon.
“You are so special. I don’t have anybody like you,” McEntire told Montel. “I knew you were a performer, so then when I turned around and I saw you I thought, ‘Oh, man. I am so glad I blocked John.’ ”
In a twist of fate, Montel went with Team Gwen. Stefani had gushed over the 29-year-old’s “gorgeous” and “original-sounding” performance.
“Niall blocked me. He did not win the artist he blocked me for,” Legend reflected. “Reba did not win the artist she blocked me for. So, the lesson is don’t block me. It’s going to backfire.”
Niall Horan declares himself ‘four-chair prince’ with 4-chair singer Nini Iris
For Nini Iris, sometimes reality is better than (fan)fiction.
The New York-based singer, who hails from the European country Georgia, brought the house down and earned a four-chair turn with her powerful performance of “I See Red” by Everybody Loves an Outlaw.
“That was the best vocal of the day without a shadow of a doubt,” Horan said, calling Iris’ performance “commanding.” “I think we’re looking at a potential winner here.”
Legend echoed Horan’s praise of the 27-year-old songstress. “It was fantastic to witness,” he told Iris. “You gave us a soulful rock performance.”
When asked by Stefani who her musical influences are, Iris revealed she was a big One Direction fan in her younger years, even writing fanfiction about the British boyband that featured Horan.
Iris brought her Directioner fantasy to life with her “Voice” victory. The singer chose to join Team Niall.
“John Legend was turning into the four-chair king,” Horan said. “But the four-chair prince is here now.”
'The Voice':Niall Horan wins over 4-chair singer Laura Williams with fake marriage proposal
'The Voice':John Legend makes Niall Horan 'so upset' by blocking 'divine' 4-chair win