Watch John Legend Steal a Four-Chair Turn on 'The Voice' With a Song
Mara Justine
On Monday night, 21-year-old Mara Justine from Galloway, N.J., got a four-chair turn for her unique take on Elton John’s "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road," but The Voice left us hanging until tonight for the reveal of who Mara chose as her coach.
“God, they make them different in Jersey,” Niall said. “Someone that's willing to go into the first round with an Elton John song and sing it like that, that takes something. If this is where you’ve set the bar, what are we going to see from you down the line? America is going to fall in love with that voice.”
Then Reba told Mara, “I love your song selection. I love your voice. I love your confidence, your stage presence. You've got such a soft-spoken voice to have such a big [singing] voice. When you sing, that’s incredible. If I were to be your coach, I would love to help you more into that stage presence with your eye contact with the fans to increase that persona that you have, that sparkle in your eyes. I'd love to be your coach.”
Next up for the pitch was John, who said, “I hope you noticed that I was the first one that turned for you. They just didn't have the foresight that I had in understanding what a magical gem you are as a vocalist. The thing that made me turn on so quickly was your tone in that lower part of the song and then you had the finesse to also do those really light touches [John demonstrates], so I would love to have you on Team Legend.”
And finally, it was Gwen’s turn. “Your voice has so many beautiful parts to it, and that's not even talking about the stage presence,” she said. “Especially at this stage, you’re looking at us to turn around and even then, you were still like, ‘I’m going to slap them around a little bit.’ Even though you're so incredible, I feel like I could help you even more with that stage presence, just little tweaks here and there to get you to the next level. I would love, die, freak out, so let me be your coach.”
But Niall wasn’t giving up so easily. He was up to his Niall tricks. He said, “Mara, you’re in my wheelhouse and I would love nothing more than to coach you. I learned off of a good friend of mine who's no longer here—he's still on the planet —he's on a tractor in Oklahoma—he taught me a little trick on day one.”
Then Niall points his finger at himself just like Blake Shelton used to do, and presses his buzzer so that Blake’s old finger descends down, which now says “Pick Niall,” with Blake’s name crossed off.
Reba said, “You’re shameless.”
Niall insists, “He passed the baton over to me and I’ve taken it on.”
Related: Gwen Stefani Says She Misses Blake Shelton 'So Bad' on The Voice
Gwen, all indignant, says, “He’s a liar. My husband is Blake Shelton and he did not do that.”
Niall disputes her, saying, “He did because that’s his and it’s got his name crossed out. He taught me how to do absolutely anything to make sure that you get a team member.”
Niall goes up on stage and puts his arm around Mara’s shoulders, but John is having none of it. He also comes up and asks Mara if she’s ever sung one of his songs.
She says, “Of course,” so he asks, “Do you want to sing a song together? That would be fun.”
They duet on “All of Me.”
Photo by: Dave Bjerke/NBC
When they’re done, Reba says, “Mara, this has been quite entertaining for all of us, except for Niall. Who do you choose as your coach?”
Niall gets down on his knees to beg, John beseeches her, “Don’t break my heart,” and she chooses John.
Related: The Voice Reveals Coaches for Season 25 – And There’s an Exciting Twist!
“I had to get Mara on my team. I’m so happy,” said John, handing her a Team Legend jacket. “She’s soulful, she’s got amazing tone, amazing power in her voice. Take that Niall.”
And it turns out that Niall never really had a chance, because Mara says, “My first pick was Reba but after singing that song with John, I was like, ‘This is it.’”
Then Gwen tells the two men, “I am actually embarrassed by both of you guys’ behavior. That was disgusting.”
Reba agrees, saying, “That was shameless.”
Mara, who began singing when she was 8, is no stranger to singing competitions. She competed on season 9 of America’s Got Talent when she was 11, making it to the finale, and then again on American Idol in season 16 when she was 16, making it to the Top 14.
The Voice airs Monday and Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC.
