The Voice contestant Azán wants viewers to know that she belongs in the Top 9 of the competition. The singer brought out all the stops, showcasing a stripped-down version of “Ex-Factor” by Lauryn Hill. It’s a song that’s never been sung in the past 23 seasons of the show.
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Host Carson Daily highlighted the distinction after the performance, saying, “It’s so cool that we can sing that song by the way on the show. We’ve never done that Lauryn Hill song, which is great.”
As for Azán’s actual performance, the singer showcased her range in a stunning display that demonstrated a lot of nuance that her voice has. Azán’s performance was enough to get coaches John Legend and Gwen Stefani off their feet for a standing ovation.
For Stefani, Azán’s performance may have supplanted her admiration for the original. She appreciated that Azán made the song her own. She said, “I’m blown away right now. To be able to do that song and move me that way because I’m so addicted to the original and to take it outside of the hip-hop world and just sing the lyric and make it feel like your song —that’s a big deal. You did it. It sounded so good.”
Meanwhile, Legend believed that the song was the perfect showcase of Azán’s talents and is an example of why she should stay in the competition. He said, “I just felt everything. Your outfit looks amazing. Your passion, your emotion, your voice like I said is a golden voice because it has so much nuance to it and beauty and radiance and all that came through in this performance. It was gorgeous.”
While it’s possible no singer has picked Hill’s song previously, it’s also possible that The Voice just recently got the rights to use the song. For those not in the know, most competition shows like The Voice and American Idol can’t just use any song that they want. Instead, typically these shows have a list of preapproved songs for contestants to pick from.
On The Voice in particular, contestants often work with their coaches to pick the songs that’s best for them as previous winner Maelyn Jarmon told Country Living. She said, “Sometimes [John Legend] suggested things that I wouldn’t have done and then they ended up being big moments for me.”
[Photo by NBC/The Voice]
