It was another mind-blowing night of blind auditions on NBC’s reality singing competition The Voice.
Videos by American Songwriter
Contestants were not afraid to bring their all to the September 26 episode — and that especially includes Ephraim Owens. The husband and father from Indianapolis took the stage with a cover of Labrinth’s song “Beneath Your Beautiful,” which features Emeli Sande.
He immediately caught the attention of coaches Niall Horan and Gwen Stefani, who were the first to turn their chairs, and then shortly after, John Legend and Reba McEntire joined the turnaround.
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As Owens sang, he was supported on the sidelines by his wife and young daughter.
Stefani kicked off the judges’ comments by saying, “I love your voice so much. You kind of have this soulfulness but this rock side to you too… I just feel super strong that you should be on Team Gwen.”
Horan followed up.”When you feel angst in a singer’s voice, I think that’s the best thing you can have. Big songs like this need big singers,” he said. “Having been on a show like this myself, I would really appreciate it if you kept me in your mind when you’re going to pick your coach because I’d love to have you on Team Niall.”
McEntire chimed in with her thoughts: “It’s an honor to get to hear you sing. Boy, you are a firecracker. You were explosive. You were dynamic all over the stage. Thank you for the kind words, and I would love to have you on Team Reba. We’d have a blast.”
Legend then made his pitch. “I love that performance. [Horan] called it angst. I like to call it urgency,” he said. “You were singing it like your life depended on it, which is a powerful thing to witness. It’s very mesmerizing as an audience member, and not only did you give us that feeling, but you were executing the song with great skill as a vocalist, too, at the same time. So congratulations on that! Whoever gets the honor to coach you will have so much fun working with you.”
Owens ultimately chose Team John Legend.
The Voice airs on Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET on NBC.
Photo by: Greg Gayne/NBC
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