‘The Voice’ coaches couldn’t get enough of his Aretha Franklin cover — then the knockouts changed it all
'The Voice,' staying true to its title, has always had very interesting auditions. Referred to as blind auditions, the coaches' chairs are turned away as they judge a singer based on just their 'voice.' It doesn't matter how well you might present yourself; your voice needs to stand apart to be able to stay in the competition. If a coach is impressed, they press a button that turns their chair. If multiple coaches turn their chairs, the power then shifts to the contestant, who gets to choose whose team they want to be on.
Conor James won hearts in his blind auditions for 'The Voice' season 27 with his rendition of 'I Say a Little Prayer' by Aretha Franklin, earning a rare and coveted four-chair turn. As James ended his performance, all four coaches were on their feet, applauding. Perhaps Kelsea Ballerini summed it up perfectly as she said, "I'm obsessed with you." John Legend was impressed with the Bridgewater native's performance as well, as he went on to say, "I absolutely love that song. It's truly one of our great songs, period, in the world. What I love about your version is it really took us on a journey. It was soulful and elegant; it was all so tastefully done and so cool."
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Ballerini shared some heartfelt words as well. "I felt, before I even saw you, this person is so in their body. And then I turned around and watched you. You can tell when someone feels it. As we're still navigating our own careers, it's, like, so inspiring to see someone like you and be like, Oh my god, I never want to lose that in myself too," as Ballerini then asked James to be on her team. However, despite all four coaches' compelling arguments, James ended up choosing to be on Adam Levine's team. As reported by NBC, Levine even called James a unicorn as he told James he had a "spirit" and "limitless potential.
Fast forward to the knockout round, and James is performing against another member of Team Adam, Darius J. As Darius J performed 'American Boy' by Estelle, James took on Alphaville's 'Forever Young.' Despite a beautiful performance by the two, the judges had to choose. Legend wanted Darius J. to move on over to James. Michael Bublé shared the same sentiment as he agreed that James could've picked a better song. As reported by The Enterprise, Bublé said, "I love your voice. I love its control. I don't know if that was the best choice song there were limitations structurally that you could have picked... You can sing alphabets. You can sing anything."
It seemed as if Darius J would move on to the next round, as both Bublé and Legend believed in him. However, in a turn of events, James ended up moving to the next round while also being commended by Levine for choosing such a bold song. Once James' decision was made and he left the stage, each of the judges had the chance to steal Darius J themselves, and it was Ballerini in the end who took him.
