It’s a tall task to cover an Adele song, but EJ Michels did it with ease with his audition of Adele’s “Easy” on The Voice.
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From the opening notes, the 31-year-old singer from Utah had coaches Chance the Rapper, Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson and Niall Horan mystified, with Chance quickly pushing his buzzer. While Michels’ mellifluous voice kept the coaches in a trance, he drew gentle cheers from the audience. Shelton also pressed his button before the performance was over.
“I got a great ear for music,” Chance told Michels while vying to be his coach. “I could tell that you were an instrumentalist before I saw that you were on piano because they do their runs differently, typically.”
He then complimented Michels’ falsetto and his ability to “actually attack and do well on an Adele song.” “I think we can do great stuff together and I cannot wait to be your coach,” Chance professed.
Shelton also took a technical tone when discussing Michels’ delivery, noting his ability to capture emotions. “Your voice is so raw and honest,” Shelton praised. “Sometimes people come out here and there’s imperfections in their performance that just make you feel as a listener more of a connection.”
He continued, acknowledging that there were moments when Michels’ voice was starting to break.
“All that did was create an angst in the performance and emotionally kind of had me on the edge,” Shelton said, jokingly describing himself as a “calloused” person in the music industry. “If you can make me feel that, I can’t wait to see what you can do to America”
Overcome with gratitude, Michels said “this is really tough” when it came time to pick his coach, ultimately choosing Shelton. The Voice is currently in its 23rd season and will be Shelton’s final season as a coach. The Voice airs on Monday night at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Photo Credit: Casey Durkin/NBC
