Michael Bublé has had quite the career since his 2005 breakout album It’s Time. Since then, the Canadian crooner has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide and brought home five Grammy Awards. Currently, he is honing his skill and industry knowledge as a coach on season 26 of The Voice. But most musical icons don’t start out at the top, and Bublé is achingly familiar with that fact. When 16-year-old Zaza Benjamin failed to turn a single chair during her Blind Audition, the “Feeling Good” hitmaker opened up about a past disappointment of his own.
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Zaza Benjamin Gets Encouraging Feedback After No-Chair Turn
Zaza Benjamin, 16, is an aspiring singer-songwriter from Oakland, California. Despite giving it her best effort, the teenager’s cover of H.E.R.’s “Hard Place” didn’t garner a single chair turn from coaches Reba McEntire, Gwen Stefani, Snoop Dogg, or Michael Bublé.
“Did you have a little trouble at the very beginning coming in?” The Voice coach Reba McEntire asked Benjamin after the performance.
“Yes, I did,” the contestant replied.
“Well, you recovered magnificently,” the “Fancy singer said. “Way to hang in there.”
Snoop Dogg was equally encouraging, urging Benjamin to “keep practicing.”
[RELATED: “I Love You So Much”: Michael Bublé Opening Up To Snoop Dogg Is Everything]
“Right now, you’re good, but you could be great,” said the legendary gangsta rapper. “I see the greatness in you, baby girl.”
Michael Bublé Once Lost A Youth Talent Search in Memphis: “I Can’t Take It”
Visibly softening, Michael Bublé said to Benjamin, “I imagine that your heart’s hurting, huh? And it should. That’s part of the journey you’re gonna go through to become a star.”
He continued, “You’re 16 years old. You lost nothing today. You’re looking at four people who have been told no, who have gone home and cried to their moms and dads, who’ve thought they were gonna fail a million times.
“You’re good enough,” Bublé emphasized. “You really are.”
The “Home” singer joined Snoop onstage to give Benjamin one last supportive embrace. After the 16-year-old left the stage, Bublé opened up about why seeing the young artist’s setback was especially painful for him.
“I lost the youth talent search in Memphis,” he told the other coaches. “My heart was crushed, and when I see [Benjamin], I can’t take it.”
“And, by the way,” Bublé added, “I deserved to win in Memphis.”
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