John Legend struggled to speak through his tears after this stellar 'Voice' performance: 'I felt...'
John Legend was in a puddle of tears after witnessing the emotional performance by Lennon VanderDoes! During a November 2024 episode of 'The Voice', VanderDoes performed a heartwarming rendition of 'I Won’t Give Up' by Jason Mraz for the Knockouts. When VanderDoes was performing on the stage, all the judges were moved to tears by his performance. Gwen Stefani was nearly on the verge of crying while watching VanderDoes' performance, meanwhile, Niall Horan might’ve brushed a tear or two away. On the other hand, when we talk about Legend, he was legit bawling his eyes out.
According to Pure Wow, when Carson Daly, the host of the NBC singing competition, asked Legend to share his feedback on VanderDoes' performance, the 'All of Me' hitmaker could barely speak. With tears in his eyes, Legend quipped, “Ever since I became a dad, I, definitely cry more much more than I used to. Lennon, I thought of you as the underdog… I felt you being fully yourself, and it felt moving to me. It felt so passionate and so moving, it just got me.”
Shortly afterward, coach Reba McEntire grabbed a tissue from a box and handed it over to Legend as he continued to process his emotions. Following that, the 'Queen of Country' offered her valuable feedback to VanderDoes and told the budding singer, “I hope you realize that’s the biggest compliment another artist can give you, is to sit there and cry, because you touched John to his core.” As per NBC, Stefani chimed in, "You made us both cry! It was so moving because it was done so intentionally with the lyrics. There’s no winner.”
For the Knockouts, VanderDoes was put in the competition against two of his Team Niall teammates: Alexa Wildish, who sang a soothing rendition of Cher’s 'Believe' and Julia Roome, who performed 'Unstoppable' by Joni Mitchell. In the end, Horan named Wildish the winner of the round. For the unversed, VanderDoes decided to sing 'I Won't Give You' during the Knockouts because it reminded him of his pursuit of music. During rehearsals, VanderDoes revealed that before he appeared on 'The Voice', he was singing anywhere that would have him, including dive bars and even hot bar stands. At that point, VanderDoes stated that despite all the odds, he never gave up, and the rest is history.
Once the episode dropped, the fans flocked to the comments section of the post to gush over VanderDoes' vocals. One social media user wrote, "I think people don't understand how good this guy actually is. This man could be a huge star. He has a unique and remindfull tone perfect to record tracks already. Sign the guy!" Followed by a second user who penned, "This guy has the kind of voice that you just can’t forget. There is an element of potential greatness with him." Another netizen stated, "Lennons voice carries such a strong personal identity and gives me a warm feeling like a long-lasting hug. My personal favorite this year." A user commented, "Man, I know the show is packed with a bunch of great artists this season but Lennon is just so unique. Every performance of his is magical and heartfelt."