Last night on The Voice, artists dug deep and the superstar coaches pulled no punches as the Blind Auditions passed halfway.
Thirty-six-year-old professional dancer and fire twirler, Richard Tanumi, sparked a pitching war between coaches Jessica Mauboy and Rita Ora with his performance of The Weeknd’s Call Out My Name.
“I think you have such grit and sexiness in your voice; you’re an artist. I’m gonna fight for you,” declared Jess, out-pitching Rita and locking Richard for her team.
Taking the stage dressed in an Oodie, 19-year-old Summer Beecham turned all four coaches’ chairs with her vulnerable performance of Without You by The Kid LAROI and Miley Cyrus.
Jess secured Summer for her team, confessing: “I just love your tone. It’s current, it’s radio-ready; with a voice like that and no training, I can’t imagine what you are going to do next on this show.”
Twenty-year-old wedding singer Chloe Kandetzki sang I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston, creating an emotional déjà vu moment for Jess, who also sang the song for her 2007 Australian Idol audition. With tears in her eyes, Jess said, “You touched my soul in a most vulnerable way. This song changed my life forever.”
At Rita’s request, Jess joined Chloe on stage for a few bars of the epic ballad before Rita unleashed the biggest hit of the night, blocking Jess from pitching for Chloe. “Ruthless! I don’t know what to say,” said a shocked Jess. “I was so blown away by the performance. I had to do it. I was so inspired I had to block Jess,” replied Rita, saying Jess had enough “big voices” on her team.
In a moving tribute, Melanie Cowmeadow sang her late father’s favourite song, Never Let Me Go by Florence + the Machine. The twenty-three-year-old’s emotional performance received four chair turns and a standing ovation from the coaches. Praising Melanie on her performance, Keith said, “The artists I always love the most are the ones that are willing to share their experience with everybody through their art. To choose something so vulnerable, real and raw lets us feel your humanity.” Keith’s words struck a chord, with Melanie choosing his team.
