Even though he’s the newest “The Voice” coach on the block, John Legend already proved his power in the Season 16 premiere by becoming the first person to win a four-chair turn. And that makes Kelly Clarkson nervous. “I actually am in love with the fact that Maelyn Jarmon is with John,” Kelly confessed, “but I’ve never been more terrified to be on this show with another coach than John Legend. He’s everyone’s threat. If they don’t know it yet, he’s the threat.” Did Maelyn make the right choice to become the first member of Team John? Watch “The Voice” blind audition video above.
Just minutes earlier Blake Shelton had blocked John from coaching country artist Gyth Ridgon, so when it was time to fight for Maelyn following her cover of “Fields of Gold,” John pulled out all the stops. “What you did, it showed your skill, it showed your mastery of your instrument, but it also showed that you have magic, too,” he told the young artist from New York.
Maelyn’s cover of the Sting classic was particularly impressive considering that she’s completely deaf in one ear. John continued, “[Your voice] made the high notes really pierce through, but it also made the more quiet moments feel like you were caressing the notes in the right way. That is how you really make it feel beautiful so we don’t have to think about it, we just feel it. We felt the magic tonight.”
When Adam Levine argued that Maelyn should pick him because he’s a 16-season veteran who knows what works and what doesn’t, John smartly interjected, “I just don’t want you to be coached by someone who’s been here so long that they’re jaded. Sometimes you need a fresh perspective, you know?”
Maelyn ultimately decided to become the first artist on John’s team. She explained her decision backstage, saying, “I picked John Legend because he is an EGOT. He’s been so successful in so many different areas of music, and that’s what I want to do.” John joined the EGOT club last year as one of the 15 people to win an Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony.
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