“I’ve always been told, ‘You’re not going to be able to do the normal things that other people do.’ And I want to prove to them, ‘You know what? you are wrong. “No matter what your disability is, you can do whatever you put your mind to,” said 24-year-old soul-pop singer Ali.
And Ali certainly accomplished that mission on Monday, the third night The voice Season 23 Blind Auditions.
Ali was born with “profound hearing loss,” which her musician father found out when he hit one of his drums very loudly with Ali as a toddler nearby, and his daughter didn’t even flinch. “It was devastating,” Ali’s mother, sitting with Ali’s father and talking to him voice host Carson Daly recalled. “All these things go through your head like, ‘What about this?’ music?’”
It turns out Ali’s mom and dad needn’t have worried. “My parents never saw it as ‘broken,'” Ali explained. “We worked around it. We worked with him. Music is something I love so much. No matter how much I doubt myself, I will. Even though I can’t hear every single thing that’s going on, I can feel the music – what it means and what the lyrics are about – and I can also feel the beat. I can feel every little thing that comes out of the speaker, and that’s how I can do the things that I do. That’s my superpower.”
Ali admitted that “it took me a long time to have that kind of courage to do something as big as this, but she seemed extremely confident in voice stage, and like Season 16 winner Maylene Jarmon — who also once described her own partial deafness as her “superpower” — she had a beautiful, husky yet rounded tone and shockingly perfect pitch. After her lovely cover of Roberta Flack’s ‘Killing Me Softly With His Song’, she told the coaches: ‘A fun fact about me is that I’m hard of hearing. I wear two hearing aids. I was born deaf. I’m so blessed to be able to share this.” And they were understandably amazed.
“If you had lined up all the singers we’ve heard so far and then said, ‘Pick who’s hard of hearing,’ you’d probably be last one I would say,” Blake Shelton said with a laugh. “That vocal was just amazing!”
“You’re amazing. Whatever misfortunes you’ve had in your life, you’re just jumping over hurdles here and it’s amazing to watch,” added Niall Horan.
As for the two coaches who actually reached out to Ali — Kelly Clarkson and Chance the Rapper — Kelly marveled, “Your runs were so complicated and cool and different. It is a gift. … Sometimes you hear a song that you know so well, that’s ingrained in you, and when some people change it, it can be kind of weird. But the changes you made were so You. I was like “Me must to turn around and see who’s singing that!’”
Despite Kelly’s effusive and heartfelt praise, I thought Ali was going to pick on Chance when he mentioned that he works with an “awesome organization” called Definitely Dope, which organizes ASL hip-hop acts for national music festivals. “I have made many friends in the deaf and hard of hearing community [through Definitely Dope], and I think it’s so stupid if they can turn to someone who loves music as much as they do,” Chance told Ali. “I think that’s hugely important and powerful, and naturally you have just an amazing voice; all the choices you were making felt very heartfelt. I would love to hear you sing gospel.
The fact that Ali is also a gospel singer/fan seemed to give Chance even more of an advantage, but Ali ended up joining Team Kelly. I’m just happy Ali took that “leap of faith” and found a place The voice. “I’m excited to work with someone who experiences music on different levels than I do. She’s so bold and confident and I really want to get into songs with her,” Kelly said of her new crew member. “I want to know what it is I feel it music.”
Monday brought some other standout singers who brought the feeling. These were the other successful blind auditions of the night:
Riley Tate Wilson, 15: ‘I dance alone’
The bedroom prodigy and self-described weirdo delivered a soulful, vulnerable cover of Robyn, which Chance described as “fire,” prompting Niall to exclaim, “My head almost exploded! It was the best audition we’ve ever seen here.” Niall – who remembers being super nervous when he auditioned for ‘a show like this’ as a teenager while undergoing puberty voice change – was amazed at Riley’s maturity, poise and vocal control.
Who flipped? Kelly (“light years ahead of the others!”) and Niall, followed by Blake and Chance.
Result: Team Niall. Apparently, Niall’s threat to “fight in the parking lot” with Blake over Riley worked. But such threats were probably unnecessary: while Riley admitted that he had originally planned to join Kelly’s team, even Blake knew that he had always been Riley’s “fourth choice.”
Jamar Langley, 36: ‘Try me’
Jamar was waiting long time for his chance to “try” again: he began singing at age 3, began writing “PG” love songs at age 11, and formed a vocal group with his older brothers at 14. But then Jamar had to put his music career on hold when he became a father in his early twenties. He seemed nervous to be on such a big stage, but maybe he’s finally ready for prime time.
Who flipped? Chance and Blake, who both decided to give Jamar a “trial” at the last minute. “It was a perfect example of not giving up because [your performance] it didn’t start perfectly, but then it got really good – and then it did greatBlake said. “It’s always great to see someone who really wants to do it,” Chance agreed.
Result: Team chance.
Ali Keck, 28: “Paris (Ooh La La)”
Oooh la la la la, really! This powerhouse, Nashville-based American company came out of the gate with their fiery, oh-so-sexy cover of Grace Potter, which Kelly described as sounding like “Janice and Anne Wilson at the same time.” Chance actually said Ali sounded like a human electric guitar. Blake shouted:It is what am I talking about — someone on this show who rocks!”
Who flipped? Blake and Kelly. Niall admitted that he regretted not reaching out – as he should have, because it was truly a missed opportunity. As Kelly and Blake noted, Allie will be taking on her own lane this season.
Result: Team Kelly, which was clearly the right decision. Together, these dynamite ladies are sure to rock Season 23.
Walker Wilson, 24: “Hurricane”
This old-school Southern rocker’s day job (or night job, technically) is as a drummer in a Nashville bar, but he’s aspiring to make a real name for himself on Music Row. Blake was already considering Waylon and Willie covers for Walker to do and I think Walker might be the favorite with voice regulars if Walker is in that lane.
Who flipped? Only Blake – but let’s face it, there was no other coach who had a chance. Kelly even admitted that’s why he didn’t bother to press the button. “The moment it started, [Blake] it was everywhere. You guys are a match made in heaven,” Niall said.
Result: Team Blake. “I’m damn proud to have you on my team,” Blake told Walker.
Manasseh Samone, 22: “Get up”
This classically trained opera singer tried out last season but didn’t turn a single chair, with coach John Legend advising her to work on controlling her high vibrato. This time, she sang for three coaches who had never heard her before (John is out this season, while Kelly took last season). And one of Season 23’s newbies, Chance, was impressed with Manasseh’s new and improved “unique and specific” tone on her Andra Day anthem, even comparing her to a young Jennifer Hudson.
Who flipped? Only Chance, who excitedly called getting this diva all to himself “the biggest blessing of the season so far.”
Result: Team Chance, obviously.
Jerome Godwin III, 20: “pov”
This dental student with a superstar smile said he’s at a “crossroads” in his life, wondering if he should pursue his real dream career instead of his safer Plan B. Well, I guess he’ll have to take at least one semester of dental school! While it took a while for Jerome to turn every chair — as Chance pointed out, he had some issues with the pitch — his “super soulful” runs, mastery of his lower register and sheer passion ultimately made two coaches smile.
Who flipped? Niall and Kelly.
Result: Team Niall.
EJ Michels, 31: ‘Easy for me’
In a classic TV moment about the face not matching the voice, everyone was stunned when they turned around to see a treble piano person, not a Carole King-esque singer, on stage. This former frontman of the pop rock band Foreign Figures, who grew up in talkative Utah, but has finally found the courage to come out as gay and present his true, authentic self to voice on stage, pouring out all her passion and pain into Adele’s not-so-easy-to-deliver “Easy on Me.” Blake said the interruption of EJ’s “so raw and honest” voice “created an anxiety” that “emotionally freaked me out” and joked that if EJ could have that effect on “the most callous person in the music industry sitting here for 23 seasons,” he is sure to be unstoppable.
Who flipped? Chance and Blake.
Result: Team Blake! That was another EJ curveball. I thought Chance had it in the bag when he praised EJ’s “major upper register” and suggested neo-soul covers by D’Angelo and Maxwell, which I think really would have worked for EJ. Oh, good. “I can’t wait to hear EJ in the next round doing Tim McGraw or something,” Chance muttered sarcastically.
Laura Littleton, 26: ‘Sign of the times’
This bluegrass singer from Tennessee had an interesting and iconoclastic style—Kelly described it as “Dolly Parton meets Florence and the Machine”—but I thought Harry Styles’ cosmic ballad was a little too big for her reedy tone. However, the song’s creative arrangement and Laura’s sparkling personality more than made up for it. This girl was so cute, even the only trainer who no her turn, Chance finally jumped on stage to give her a big hug.
Who flipped? Kelly, Niall and Blake – but Kelly blocked the last coach, her long-time rival.
Result: Team Niall! I have a feeling Laura would have chosen Blake if given the chance because she sweetly said she was “so honored” and “grateful” to be a part of Blake’s final season. That comment initially made Kelly feel “really awful” for robbing Laura of her Team Blake opportunity — but she soon felt way more terrible for no blocking Niall, the trainer with an obvious connection to the original Sign of the Times artist and new rival who is being groomed to be the New Blake. Oops!.
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