John Legend will go to any lengths to get a country artist on his team. On the season 29 premiere of The Voice, Legend and fellow coach Kelly Clarkson turned their chairs for a teenage country singer.
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Julia Golden wowed the pair with her performance of Deana Carter’s “Strawberry Wine,” and they were ready to fight to get her on their team.
Legend began his case by stating that he turned his chair well before Clarkson, but the latter insisted that she was so into the music that she simply forgot to turn around.
“You have such beautiful texture to your voice. It feels like you have such heart when you sing,” Legend told the teen. “I think you can go far on this show.”
Clarkson went on to compare Golden to Lee Ann Womack, stating, “You have to be authentic, you have to be believable, and that’s what you were for me.”
Perhaps sensing his chance slipping away, Legend cued up a video by the one and only Reba McEntire, as Clarkson exclaimed, “Oh no she did not.”
In the clip, McEntire stated, “People have asked me, ‘Can John Legend coach a country artist?’ Heck yeah. I wish he’d coach me. He’s absolutely fantastic. He’s a genius. He can do anything. He plays, he sings, he mentors. I know. I’m the queen of country music and I endorse John Legend.”
Kelly Clarkson Places a Call to Reba McEntire on The Voice
By the end of the clip, Clarkson was so incensed that she dialed up McEntire for an explanation. After instructing Clarkson to “calm down,” McEntire confirmed that the “Stronger” singer is a great coach too.
“I love you so much, but I hate that video,” Clarkson replied, before hanging up the phone.
Fellow coach Adam Levine seemed to feel bad for Clarkson, so he offered his endorsement to even the playing field.
“Just weigh the endorsements,” Legend advised with a laugh.
At the end of the day, Legend’s stunt was not enough to woo Golden to his team. The teenager wound up picking Clarkson as her coach.
“My strategy,” Clarkson told the cameras after her big win, “is just to gather all those country artists on my team.”
The Voice airs Mondays on NBC.
Photo by Griffin Nagel/NBC
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