South Carolina native wows ‘The Voice’ judges, earns 4-chair turn during blind audition
Singer Aaron Hines sent “The Voice” judges scrambling to be his coach on the final night of the blind auditions Tuesday.
Hines, a Charleston, South Carolina, native now living in San Antonio, Texas, got all four celebrity coaches — Blake Shelton, Ariana Grande, John Legend and Kelly Clarkson — to swivel after delivering a soulful rendition of Giveon’s “Heartbreak Anniversary.”
Legend was the first to hit his button, triggering an all out war between himself and his fellow judges.
“I love your voice,” Legend began. “You just sounded like you knew what you wanted to do with the song. You went out there and executed it beautifully.”
Hines noted that he had some experience singing the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony) winner’s songs, including Legend’s 2013 hit “All of Me,” which they briefly sang together.
“John Legend has played such an instrumental part in who I am as an artist,” he said in a pre-taped segment before hitting “The Voice” stage. “My first time performing for a real audience was an eighth grade talent show. It was a John Legend song ... I remember the inrto to ‘Ordinary People’ starting. I was so nervous.”
Performing for John was “a full circle moment,” Hines said.
Clarkson was equally impressed with Hines’ voice, calling his performance “very moving.”
“A lot of people feel like you have to wail,” the “American Idol” alum said. “I think you did a really great job of being sincere and intimate, but also giving us big notes. We’d work together well; obviously I’ve navigated a (music) competition before.”
“Your tone stopped me dead in my tracks,” Grande chimed in, saying she wanted to turn her chair immediately after hearing Hines belt out those first few notes.
Shelton acknowledged he might not be the obvious choice for an R&B singer like Hines, but promised they would “celebrate in front of the Blake’s Win Cam” if Hines agreed to join his team. The country music star has had previous success coaching R&B/soul artists such as Cam Anthony, who went on to win Season 20 of “The Voice.”
After much back and forth, Hines ultimately decided to take his talents to Team Kelly.
“I feel like she got me artistically,” he told host Carson Daly after his audition.
“The Voice” airs Mondays at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
This story was originally published October 6, 2021 at 11:43 AM with the headline "South Carolina native wows ‘The Voice’ judges, earns 4-chair turn during blind audition."