“The Voice” just added a new name to its season 20 roster of four-chair turns: Anna Grace.
Singing the Billie Eilish hit “My Future,” the 20-year-old from Milwaukee immediately sent a hush over the room with her soothing, soulful vocals. It didn’t take the celebrity judges long to decide she was worth a four-chair smackdown!
In her pre-audition video, Anna explained her journey from stage fright to the national television stage she was about to tackle.
At about age 13, insecurities led her to hide her voice away and stop singing publicly. Then, three years ago, she had a near-death experience involving a blood infection that sent her into septic shock.
“The doctors told my parents that I might not make it through the night,” Anna said. “I remember thinking in that moment, ‘If I make it through this I’m not going to be scared to sing in front of people anymore.’ I mean, I was only 17! I was like, ‘I haven’t done anything yet!'”
Sure enough, she made it through and decided she wouldn’t waste more time giving in to fear. In fact, she was ready to share her gift of singing with the world!
With a hint of Eilish’s signature smoky tone mixed in with her own well-navigated riffs and colorful vocal choices, Anna left the judges’ brains spinning with the musical possibilities.
She got three chair turns all at once in the first 30 seconds of her performance, with Blake Shelton’s chair following suit right before she finished.
John Legend immediately spoke up, saying, “I love all of the nuance that you showed, and you made such cool choices musically. It was really, really beautiful. I would love to be your coach.”
That’s when Kelly Clarkson jumped in to make her own pitch: “It just sounds kind of ethereal and you get to use your head voice a lot and as a female, I love that. It’s just a really cool contemporary take on an old-school vibe.”
She added, “There’s a Team Kelly jacket waiting for you.”
Blake Shelton was up next. Leaning on his humor to secure this coaching win, he implied Nick Jonas was hoping that Anna would transition over into country music. This was, of course, untrue, but Jonas had already plotted a way to retaliate.
“This show is all about great voices obviously, and you are one of the best we’ve heard, so I want to show you something because I want you to make the right choice here,” Jonas said.
He proceeded to display a series of memes, painting each of the other three judges in a less-than-appealing light.
Legend uttered a simple reply: “That pitch was seriously inappropriate.”
All in good fun! After each judge had a chance to say their piece, Anna paused to give her massive decision one final thought. But she had known in her heart which way she was leaning the whole time: She is now Team Kelly all the way!
Having scored her second four-chair-turn victory, Clarkson later declared, “I’m queen of the four chairs.”
After Anna’s phenomenal performance and all the incredible feedback from the judges, few people are feeling more like a queen right now than the singer herself.
“I was the most nervous I had ever been for that moment, and the fact that it turned out the way it did is unreal to me,” she wrote on Instagram. “The coaches’ belief in me and my potential is what means so much to me. I can’t want for you guys to see what’s to come.”
Thanking the other three coaches for their love and support, she added, “I’m in shock right now. The most incredible experience of my life and I’m so grateful I get the chance to work with Kelly Clarkson.”
Congratulations to Anna on this showstopping audition! We can’t wait to see what’s next for her on Team Kelly!
Watch her stunning performance in the video below, and don’t forget to share this story.
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