Jej Vinson auditions on “The Voice”; Tyler Golden/NBCOn Monday night’s The Voice, the show’s final two performers got all four chairs to turn and Kelly Clarkson finally got her man — or rather, a man.
Jej Vinson, 22, was born in the Philippines and then moved to the U.S. with his parents at age 15. His performance of Drake‘s “Passionfruit” was so commanding and technically precise it got all four coaches to turn chairs. Before his performance, Jej was keen on John Legend coaching him, but it was Kelly who earned his choice, pointing out that male performers never seem to select her. Kelly argued that, strategically, if Jej picked her, it would distinguish him from the pack.
Another four-chair-turner was country musician Dexter Roberts from Alabama. The 27-year-old performed “Like a Cowboy” by Randy Houser. Afterward, Blake Shelton made his pitch to Dexter, extolling the virtue of country artists knowing where they come from. “I don’t cross genre — I don’t care to,” cautioned Blake, only to have his sales pitch interrupted by Kelly, who reminded people that Blake also did a duet with pop stars Gwen Stefani, Shakira and Christina Aguilera. Nevertheless, Dexter picked Blake.
Jacob Maxwell from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho earned chair turns from John and Kelly with his cover of Taylor Swift‘s “Delicate,” but it was Adam Levine who regretted not turning. “Dude, I screwed up,” lamented Adam. Jacob chose John, who compared the 20-year-old’s voice to the late singer/songwriter Jeff Buckley and his look to Leonardo DiCaprio.
Karly Moreno, 23, is a California skateboarder who performed “Starving” by Hailee Steinfeld. Adam was the only coach to turn his chair, telling the singer she had a voice he could imagine hearing on the radio right now.
Carter Lloyd Horne is a country singer from Georgia. Despite only being 19 years old, he performed “Drinkin’ Problem” by Midland and got two coaches to turn their chairs at the last second. Carter went with Blake over Kelly because of Blake’s country bona fides.
Talon Cardon hails from Utah and performed “Say You Won’t Let Go,” by James Arthur, in honor of his father, a police officer who survived a near-fatal car crash. Talon is now team John.
Patrick McAloon, a 40-year-old touring musician, and Ruby McAloon, Patrick’s 16-year-old daughter, auditioned separately and got different results. Patrick’s cover of “Runaway Train” by Soul Asylum made Adam turn his chair. Ruby auditioned next with “Back to You,” by Selena Gomez. Unfortunately, no chairs turned for her, which the coaches immediately regretted when they found out she was Patrick’s daughter. Still, each coach offered Ruby strong words of encouragement to keep developing her talent.
Twenty-six-year-old Alena D’Amico is an engaged bridal specialist from Detroit. She joined Kelly’s team after Kelly and Blake turned chairs for her performance of “In My Blood,” by Shawn Mendes.
Other contestants that performed at the blind auditions include:
Luna Searles, 37 years old, auditioned during season two but no one turned around.
Sang: “Nutbush City Limits”
Judges: No one turned.
Kanard Thomas, 28 years old, a singer on cruise ships.
Sang: “Riding with the King”
Judges: No one turned.
The Voice returns Tuesday night at 8:00 ET/7:00 CT on NBC.
Copyright © 2019, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
